Asian markets were mostly up Friday morning ahead of a pivotal speech by the US central bank chief, expected to shed light on possible interest rate cuts in the world's top economy.Japan announced Friday that its core inflation rate had eased to 3.

Gold prices fell on Thursday, pressured by a firmer dollar, while investors looked to the U.S. central bank's annual Jackson Hole symposium later in the day for further policy cues.

Gold prices fell Wednesday to their lowest level in nearly three weeks as a stronger dollar weighed on the market and investors looked ahead to the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium for signals on future monetary policy.