TOKYO - Oil and gold prices climbed while regional shares edged nervously higher on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions ratcheted up ahead of key US inflation data.

The yen was mostly flat against the dollar, having unwound much of its gains following rare intervention in currency markets by Japan and the United States.

Markets remained focused on US consumer price index data later in the session for signals of timing for a potential Federal Reserve rate hike.

"Market sentiment is lukewarm amidst lingering geopolitical risk and as market participants head into US CPI data," Kyle Rodda, a senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, wrote in a note.

"The lack of substantial news or ​progress in talks, with Iran doubling down on its commitment to govern the Strait of Hormuz, is keeping the risk for oil ​prices skewed to the upside and US indices on hold," he added.

US crude rose 0.89 percent to $83.94 a barrel, and ⁠Brent advanced to $89.60 per barrel, up 0.78 percent on the day. Both benchmarks settled more than $1 higher on Tuesday, marking their highest closes since July 31 and ​extending gains after jumping about 5 percent on Monday.

Spot gold gained 0.46 percent to $4,387.03 an ounce. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.5 percent, while Japan's ​benchmark Nikkei share gauge traded flat as the market reopened after a holiday.

Wednesday's CPI data will not capture the most recent rise in energy costs, but it could still prove instrumental in setting expectations for the Fed's meeting next month, with money markets showing an even chance of a hike.

Consumer prices are expected to edge up 0.1 percent in July after falling 0.4 percent in June, according to a Reuters poll. Annual CPI inflation ​is forecast to slow to 3.4 percent from ​3.5 percent a month earlier.

"Everyone's got ⁠their eyes on the CPI report," Skye Masters, head of markets research at National Australia Bank, said on a podcast. "If you do see the print coming in at zero, I think you'll obviously see a reasonable rally in ​Treasuries as the market unwinds expectations for the Fed tightening."

Markets are also increasingly pricing in an early ​rate hike in Japan, ⁠putting pressure on the nation's shorter-dated bonds. The yield on the 5-year Japanese government bonds rose to 2.1 percent, a record high, while the 2-year yield reached a 31-year peak of 1.63 percent.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 0.04 percent to 99.85. The euro was down 0.02 percent at $1.1538.

The Japanese yen ⁠weakened 0.03 percent ​against the greenback to 159.31 per dollar, remaining off last week's high of 155.20 after ​several suspected rounds of intervention. Sterling weakened 0.01 percent to $1.3501.

In early European trades, the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures were down 0.15 percent at 6,563, German DAX futures fell 0.12 percent at 26,444, and ​FTSE futures lost 0.25 percent to stand at 10,825.

US stock futures, the S&P 500 e-minis, were up 0.03 percent at 7,750.