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Bloomberg

Gold headed for a third weekly advance after rallying to a two-week high as investors weighed signs of increased purchases against expectations for higher borrowing costs in the U.S.

Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,193.18 an ounce by 3 p.m. in Singapore from $1,193.79 yesterday, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal climbed on Nov. 18 to $1,204.68, the highest since Oct. 30, and has risen 0.4 percent this week. A third week of gains would be the longest run since the period ended July 11.

Data yesterday showed Russia boosted gold reserves last month and Switzerland was a net exporter of the metal for the first time this year. Volumes for the Shanghai Gold Exchange’s benchmark spot contract have been above this year’s average every day after the week-long National Day holiday in October. Bullion is still on course for a second yearly decline as the Federal Reserve moves closer to raising interest rates amid lower energy prices, while other central banks add to stimulus.

“Recent U.S. data continue to point to steady improvement while other economies look weak and this will lend support to the dollar as monetary policies diverge,” Huang Wei, a Shanghai-based analyst at Huatai Great Wall Futures Co., wrote in a note today. “Physical buying has picked up, as is expected for this time of the year.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index traded near a five-year high as data this week showed manufacturing from Europe to China slowed and Japan was in recession, while in the U.S., existing home sales rose and jobless claims fell.

Gold Purchases

Gold for December delivery traded at $1,192.80 an ounce on the Comex in New York from $1,190.90 yesterday, set for a second weekly increase. Russia’s central bank said yesterday that it bought about 19.7 metric tons of bullion last month, while International Monetary Fund data showed Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Mauritius boosted holdings in October.

Swiss gold exports in October were the highest since February, with most shipments going to India, China and Hong Kong, Swiss Federal Customs Administration data showed yesterday. Demand in China and India, the largest buyers, typically picks up in the fourth quarter during festive periods and the wedding season.

Volumes for bullion of 99.99 percent purity on the Shanghai Gold Exchange have been more than this year’s daily average of about 14,822 kilograms since Oct. 8 through yesterday. They expanded on Nov. 18 to 34,514 kilograms, the most since April 2013, when the metal’s plunge into a bear market unleashed a purchasing frenzy that helped China overtake India as the world’s largest consumer.

Silver for immediate delivery traded at $16.2845 an ounce from $16.2755 yesterday, down 0.1 percent this week. Spot platinum was at $1,212.78 an ounce from $1,212.44, set for a sixth weekly retreat which is the longest such run since October 2013. Palladium rose 0.3 percent to $773.95 an ounce, poised to halt two weeks of losses.