Spot gold [XAU= 1689.41 -1.23 (-0.07%) ] had edged down 0.3 percent to $1,686.43 an ounce by 0016 GMT, easing from a five-month high of $1,692.71 hit on Friday.
U.S. gold [GCCV1 1689.10 3.80 (+0.23%) ] was little changed at $1,689.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery were up 0.20% and trading at USD1,688.75 a troy ounce, up from a session low of USD1,687.35 and down from a high of USD1,692.85 a troy ounce early during the session.
Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,646.45 a troy ounce, Friday's low, and resistance at USD1,693.05, Friday's high.
Bernanke on Friday left the door wide open to a further easing of monetary policy, saying the stagnation in the U.S. labor market was a "grave concern," but he stopped short of providing a clear signal of imminent action. Bullion is seen as a hedge against inflation.
Hedge fund and money managers boosted their net long positions in U.S. gold futures and options to the highest level in more than five months in the week ending Aug.28, as gold broke above a long-held range on hopes for more stimulus measures.
China's official factory purchasing managers' index fell to a lower-than-expected 49.2 in August from 50.1 in July, official data showed on Saturday, a result that is likely to strengthen the case for further policy steps to bolster growth.
Euro zone inflation jumped more than expected in August, data showed on Friday, likely reducing chances that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates next Thursday.
Investors interpreted the news to mean the Fed is growing increasingly ready to roll out a third round of quantitative easing, which sees the U.S. central bank buying bonds held by financial institutions to pump liquidity into the economy to push down borrowing cost and encourage investing and hiring.
Talk of such easing sends gold rising in that the monetary stimulus measure weakens the precious metal's traditional hedge, the dollar.
Gold hit a five-month high on Friday after Bernanke's dovish speech, and continued to drift higher on talk the Fed may announce plans to intervene at its next monetary policy meeting on Sept. 11-12.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was up 0.60% and trading at USD31.630 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was down 0.22% and trading at USD3.452 a pound.
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