Singapore: Gold’s on a roll, courtesy of the Federal Reserve. The precious metal is heading for the biggest weekly advance since July after US central bankers opted once again to leave interest rates unchanged while reining in their outlook for future increases.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,336.72 an ounce at 11:05am in London after capping a fourth day of gains on Thursday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal has climbed 2 per cent this week, the most since the period to July 29, as the dollar fell and investors boosted holdings in bullion-backed exchange-traded funds.

Silver, platinum and palladium are also set for weekly advances.

Gold is headed for a third quarterly gain in what would be the longest rally since 2011, when prices rose to a record. This week, the Fed scaled back tightening plans and the Bank of Japan tweaked its stimulus focus, fuelling bets European policymakers will keep their easing stance. Efforts by central banks to bolster weak growth, including with low or negative rates and asset purchases are driving demand for bullion as a store of value.

‘Revived’ Appetite

“The inaction by the Fed revived investor appetite for gold,” Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd wrote in a note. “While a cut in the Fed’s outlook for rates and the weaker US dollar no doubt played a part, the continued efforts by Bank of Japan to bolster economic stimulus also helped.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index tracking the currency against 10 major peers has lost 0.8 per cent this week. While Fed officials signalled they still expect one quarter-point rate rise this year, they now see only two hikes next year, down from a June median projection of three.

Bullion has plenty of backers. Among the bulls, Old Mutual Global Investors’ Diego Parrilla told Bloomberg this month that in a world of monetary policy “without limits,” where low or negative rates prevail, prices will likely soar to a record within five years.

Gold assets in ETFs have expanded every month this year apart from a dip in April, when they lost less than 1 per cent. After the Fed’s decision, they rose by about 7 metric tons to almost 2,031 tons, the highest in more than two weeks, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Spot platinum is up 4.2 per cent this week, heading for its first weekly gain since the end of July. Palladium climbed 2.9 per cent and silver 5.6 per cent.