Gold falls ahead of Bernanke's congressional testimony

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as investors remained prudent ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's congressional testimony on the U.S. economic outlook scheduled for Wednesday. The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 6.5 dollars, or 0.47 percent, to settle at 1,377.6 dollars per ounce. Bernanke on Wednesday will testify about the U.S. economic outlook, while the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release minutes of its most recent policy meeting. Investors believe that Bernanke may soon put an end to the Fed's monetary stimulus. Also on Tuesday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard urged the central bank to continue with its present bond-buying program and adjust the rate of purchases in view of incoming data on growth and inflation. New York Fed President William Dudley said that he was not sure about the way the Fed should adjust the size of its bond-purchase program. The U.S. dollar turned stronger against the Japanese yen on Tuesday, which also dampened gold. The yen has devaluated more than 30 percent in the past six months. Continued outflows from gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) further undermined the gold market. According to data from IndexUniverse, SPDR Gold Trust is now the fourth largest U.S.- listed ETF as of Monday, with assets under management at 44.91 billion dollars. It was the second largest U.S.-listed ETF with assets under management at 72 billion dollars at the end of last year. Silver for July delivery lost 12.7 cents, or 0.56 percent, to close at 22.455 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery also plummeted 26.2 dollars, or 1.76 percent, to close at 1,458.4 dollars per ounce.