Gold up

London: Gold prices edged up on Monday after declining more than 1 percent last week, buoyed by a weaker U.S. dollar as investors waited for possible clues on the pace of U.S. monetary tightening.

The focus is on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell´s first congressional testimony on monetary policy and the economy, due later this week. Spot gold had climbed 0.6 percent to $1,336.53 an ounce by 0419 GMT. Prices last week fell 1.4 percent, their biggest drop in 2-1/2 months.

U.S. gold futures were up 0.6 percent at $1,338.4 per ounce. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.1 percent at 89.774. It had gained nearly 0.9 percent last week and pulled away from a three-year low of 88.253 set on Feb. 16. "Global growth appetite is okay. So it´s not safe-haven demand per se, but more of a currency influence," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.