On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,669.65 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, easing down 0.06%.
Earlier in the day, prices rose by as much as 0.4% to hit a session high of USD1,677.45 a troy ounce, the highest since April 13.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,610.95 a troy ounce, the low from August 20 and near-term resistance at USD1,679.15, the high from April 13.
Gold prices rallied 3.1% last week, the best weekly performance since late-January, amid growing hopes policymakers in the U.S., Europe and China will introduce fresh easing measures to prop up their respective economies.
Futures broke above their 200-day moving average for the first time since March last week after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s August meeting showed that “many members” think additional easing may be warranted "fairly soon" unless there is evidence of a "substantial and sustainable" strengthening in the economic recovery.
In addition, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told a congressional oversight panel on Friday that the U.S. central bank has room to deliver additional monetary stimulus to boost the U.S. economy.
Gold traders looked ahead to a speech by Bernanke at an annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the end of the week, amid ongoing speculation over how close the U.S. central bank is to implementing more stimulus measures.
He has used the event the previous two years to flag the Fed's intention on more easing.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the Fed would pump more money into the financial system.
Gold gained as much as 15% earlier this year to hit USD1,790 an ounce after the Fed said in January it would keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 and indicated that it could introduce a fresh round of asset-purchases.
However, prices have lost almost 7% since late February, as the Fed failed to deliver more easing and amid concerns over the euro zone’s deepening debt crisis, which has fueled demand for the precious metal's hedge, the greenback.
Growing expectations that the European Central Bank will implement policy measures to help stabilize the euro zone's sovereign debt markets at its next policy meeting in early September further supported the precious metal.
ECB President Mario Draghi will speak at Jackson Hole on Saturday.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery rallied 1% to trade at USD31.01 a troy ounce, the highest since May 1. Silver prices soared 8.85% last week, the best five-day performance since October 2011.
Meanwhile, copper for December delivery fell 0.5% to trade at USD3.472 a pound, as growing concerns over a sharp slowdown in Chinese economic growth countered expectations for more action from central banks.
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