Gold set for biggest one-day gain of the year
Prices top $1,600 on Bernanke testimony, Italy election uncertainty
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rallied above $1,600 an ounce Tuesday, set for the biggest one-day gain of the year, as investors cheered testimony from the Federal Reserve’s chairman, who touted the economic benefits of the central bank’s quantitative-easing measures.Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments eased worries that the Fed will reconsider its QE program. The program has been supportive to gold due to worries that the program may spur inflation and weaken the dollar. Gold is often used as a hedge against inflation.
The precious metal also considered the uncertainty surrounding Italy’s election outcome as well as Goldman Sachs’s cut to its three-month gold-price forecast.

Gold for April delivery (COMEX:GCJ3) rose $25.50, or 1.6%, to $1,612.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. It touched a session high of $1,619.70. The most-active gold contract hasn’t gained more than 1.4% in a single day this year.

Prices had already climbed 0.9% on Monday. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-futures...2013-02-26