Gold flirts with $660

June 18 (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures closed higher Monday, building off last week's gains to close near the $660 level as traders eyed movements in the U.S. dollar and continued to gauge inflation concerns and the likelihood of an interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The COMEX August gold contract climbed $1.20 to close at $659.90, marking its strongest closing level since June 7. The benchmark contract, which climbed as high as $662.50 during Monday's trading session, rose $2.80 an ounce last Friday to score a total gain of $8.40 for the week. "The precious complex staged a modest rebound Friday as tame CPI data curbed expectation for the Fed to hike interest rates, leading the dollar to give back some of its recent gains," said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com. In currencies trading, Japan's yen touched a 4 1/2-year low against the dollar and fell to a new all-time low against the euro. In other economic news, The outlook for U.S. home building is the worst in 16 years, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday. The builders' housing index fell by 2 points to 28 points in June. The Commerce Department will release its latest report on May housing starts and building permits on Tuesday