Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained on Tuesday, buoyed by expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to its easy monetary policy, but still logged the worst monthly performance since late 2011.

The most active gold contract for June delivery added 4.7 dollars, or 0.32 percent, to settle at 1,472.1 dollars per ounce.

For the session, investors most adopted a wait-and-see attitude ahead of monetary policy decisions this week by the Fed and European Central Bank (ECB). But gold prices dropped 7.8 percent for the month, the sharpest monthly decline since December 2011 when futures tumbled 10.5 percent.

The good news is that the gold price decline for the month was less than that seen in December 2011, and nothing compared to the disaster in October 2008, when gold collapsed by roughly 18 percent. According to market analysts, expectations are rising that the ECB will become ultra-accommodative, while the Fed will stick to its easy monetary policy.

The Fed meets this week and will release its policy statement on Wednesday. The ECB's monetary policy decision is due Thursday. The central bank's so-called quantitative easing program has helped support gold, as the bond buying tends to pressure the dollar and can lead to inflation. Gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation.

Given that backdrop, silver for July delivery rose 1.9 cents, or 0.08 percent, to close at 24.185 dollars per ounce.

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