Gold price holds near 1-1/2-week high as Bernanke backs stimulus

US gold inched down 0.2 percent to $1,612.10.

Bernanke will remain the focus of the market, when he delivers testimony to the House Financial Services Committee.

Worries about political instability in Italy as a result of inconclusive elections triggered fear that the euro zone's No.3 economy could slip back into fiscal chaos and drag the bloc into another crisis.

But physical buying in Asia slowed after gold climbed for four days straight.

"We have seen profit-taking along the way up and much less physical buying at these levels," said a Singapore-based dealer.

"Clients still prefer to buy on dips and probably will start buying again if prices retreat to close to $1,600."

Goldman Sachs cut its 2013 gold price forecast to $1,600 an ounce from $1,810 an ounce, saying the metal's recent price drop and an increase in US real interest rates have led it to bring forward its projections for a decline in the metal.

Spot platinum dropped 0.2 percent to $1,614.99, returning to a small premium over gold after the gap closed briefly on Tuesday.