Gold declines as investors await Bernanke

LONDON: Gold fell for the third time in four days on a stronger dollar as investors weighed the Federal Reserve's next move on stimulus before comments from Ben S Bernanke, the bank's chairman.

Gold fell by 0.5 per cent to USD 1,285.38 an ounce and silver 1.1 per cent to USD 19.79 dollar an ounce.

Bernanke, scheduled to testify before Congress today, said last week that "highly accommodative monetary policy for the foreseeable future is what's needed".

The dollar gained today before US data that may show housing starts increased for a second month and assets in the largest gold-backed exchange- traded product resumed a drop.

Bullion climbed to 1,298.73 dollar on July 11, the highest since June 24, after Bernanke backed sustained asset purchases.