Gold and silver were sharply higher Monday morning following comments by Fed Chairman Bernanke and a weaker-than-expected report on February pending home sales. Spot gold was up 1.3% as of 11:15 a.m., having traded as high as $1,688.40 and as low as $1,676 an ounce, according to Kitco market data. The London afternoon reference price was set at $1,680.25, $29.25 an ounce higher than Friday’s morning reference price.

Spot silver was showing a 1.61% gain, bid at $32.76, with an ask price of $32.86. The morning high as of time of writing was $32.93, and the low was $32.48. Monday’s reference price was set at $32.23 in the London a.m., 69 cents an ounce above Friday’s reference price.

Although economic data have been positive, “the better jobs numbers seem somewhat out of sync with the overall pace of economic expansion,” Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech early Monday to members of the National Association for Business Economics. Stock index futures moved higher during Bernanke’s speech, an indication his comments are being taken to mean that the Fed will maintain its near-zero interest rate policy and remains concerned about deflation, economic weakness and threats to the financial system.

February pending home sales fell slightly in February, down 0.5%, but 9.2% above February 2011’s level following a 2% increase in January, the National Association of Realtors announced. Consensus expectation was an increase of 0.5%, according to a Briefing.com survey.

In Europe, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned that Spain’s inability or unwillingness to meet its deficit-reduction targets has the potential to reignite markets’ EU sovereign-debt concerns. Eurozone leaders are are meeting to reach an agreement on a 500 billion euro ($664 billion) emergency-firewall fund that’s intended to prevent a repeat of this sovereign-debt crisis.

Gold bullion prices rallied and hit $1,679 an ounce, up nearly 1% from last week’s close, in London morning trading Monday following Fed Chairman Bernanke’s comments, according to BullionVault’s London Gold Market report.

In Asia, the Indian government’s recent imposition of hikes in gold import duties is repressing demand for physical gold as the late April Akshaya Tritiya festival approaches. “We do expect demand to pick up in April as the Akshaya Tritiya festival in late April is fast approaching,” Standard Bank commodities strategist Walter De Wet was quoted as saying.

Indian gold imports will fall to 665 metric tons this year — a drop of nearly a third from 2011’s total. BullionVault quoted the median estimate in a poll of importers, jewelers and brokerages conducted by newswire Reuters.

In U.S. stock exchange trading, gold and silver trusts were moving up sharply.

The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was sharply higher, up around 1.5%.
The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) was up around 1.5%.
The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) was up around 2.2%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs also were showing strong morning gains.

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) was showing gains of around 1.65%.
The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) showed sharp gains of some 3.1%.
The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was moving higher, up around 1.4%.

Gold mining shares were showing sizable morning gains, with NovaGold Resources showing the morning’s greatest gains.

Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was showing gains of more than 2%.
Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was up around 1.5%.
Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) was surging higher, up more than 3.5%.
Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) was some 2.25% higher.
Kinross Gold Corp. USA (NYSE:KGC) was up around 1.55%.
Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) was up nearly 0.3%.
NovaGold Resources (NYSEAMEX:NG) was surging higher, up some 4.7%.
Yamana Gold (USA) (NYSE:AUY) was up around 2.4%.

Silver mining shares up sharply to begin the 1Q 2012’s final week of trading.

Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was showing strong gains, up nearly 2.2%.
Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was up around 1.75%.
Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was showing gains of around 1.2%.
Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) was up nearly 1%.
Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) was up nearly 1.9%.

As of this writing, Andrew Burger did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.