Gold futures rose, capping the second straight weekly gain

Gold futures rose, capping the second straight weekly gain, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signaled that the pace of U.S. monetary stimulus probably will be maintained. Gold soared 70 percent from the end of December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed kept borrowing costs at a record low and bought $2.3 trillion of bonds in two rounds of so-called quantitative easing. The metal climbed 1.3 percent this week. Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.7 percent to settle at $1,294 an ounce at 1:44 p.m. on the Comex in New York, the highest settlement since June 19. Last week, the metal jumped 5.4 percent, the most since October 2011.