CHICAGO, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed modestly higher on Wednesday as the U.S. dollar weakened.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 3.1 dollars, or 0.23 percent, to settle at 1343.10 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, fell 0.04 percent to 89.15 as of 1805 GMT.

After the U.S. Federal Reserve announced its decision to leave a short-term U.S. interest rate unchanged as expected, the index inched much lower and the gold continued its upturn in electronic trading.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes down, gold futures will rise.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left a key U.S. interest rate unchanged during the last meeting chaired by Janet Yellen.

"Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to move up this year and to stabilize around the Committee's 2 percent objective," added a statement released by the Fed's Open Market Committee following a two-day policy meeting.

The Fed will have a new leader at its next meeting scheduled in March, when it's expected to raise interest rates, some market observers now believe.