Oil was little changed in New York, rebounding from a decline after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said accommodative monetary policy is needed to lower unemployment.

Futures erased a 0.6 percent loss after Bernanke said further improvement in the job market will require keeping the central bank’s interest rates low, making commodities a more attractive investment. Oil dropped earlier on concern that Europe’s debt crisis will slow growth.

Crude oil for May delivery rose 4 cents to $106.91 a barrel at 10:43 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures dropped as low as $106.19 before the Bernanke speech in Arlington, Virginia. Prices are up 8.2 percent this year.

Brent oil for May settlement climbed 49 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $125.62 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The European benchmark contract’s premium to New York-traded West Texas Intermediate was at $18.71.

The price of gold on Monday rose more than 1% - the statements of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reinforced hopes for new measures to support the American economy from the regulator.

The head of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Monday expressed the view that the soft monetary policy in the U.S. can accelerate the growth of industrial production and increasing demand from consumers, which will lead to further improvement in the labor market.

Bank UBS said the reduction in demand for gold in China, as indicated by the small volume of trading on the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Imports of gold in India - the world's largest market of precious metals - can be reduced by a third this year due to the doubling of import duty, according to analysts polled by Reuters.

April futures price of gold on COMEX today rose to $ 1687.8 an ounce.