Gold rose to close to $890 per ounce on bargain-hunting, after falling one per cent last week, but trade was sporadic as many key markets were closed for the Easter holiday.
Spot gold was at $888.10 per ounce, up 0.85 per cent from Friday's notional close of $880.65 and 2.75 per cent above a recent low of $864.30 on April 6, the lowest since January 23.
It fell 1.3 per cent last week as some investors unwound safe-haven positions and moved to other assets, including stocks.
However, analysts considered inflationary measures along with massive fiscal stimulus packages recently announced by various countries are bullish for gold and other commodity prices.
For other precious metals, platinum advanced for a fifth day to the highest in more than six months as a rally in equity markets and rising auto sales in China increased speculation that demand may gain.
China's passenger car sales reached a record in March, boosting demand prospects for platinum and palladium used in catalyst converters for vehicle pollution-control devices. Platinum for immediate delivery advanced as much as 2.9 per cent to $1,246.75 an ounce, the highest level since September 23.
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