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By Bloomberg

Gold fell to trim a third weekly gain as investors weighed the outlook for U.S. interest rates after the European Central Bank expanded stimulus.

Bullion for immediate delivery declined 0.6 percent to $1,294.66 an ounce at 2:07 p.m. in Singapore, Bloomberg generic pricing shows. Prices touched $1,307.62 on Jan. 22, the highest since Aug. 15., and have risen 1.1 percent this week. The 14-day relative-strength index held above the level of 70, signaling to some investors an impending reversal.

Gold jumped 9.3 percent this year as stagnating economies challenged policy makers to find new ways to buoy growth. ECB President Mario Draghi pledged to buy 60 billion euros every month through September next year in a push to put more cash in circulation and revive inflation. Federal Reserve policy makers meet next week to discuss interest rates as inflation hovers below a 2 percent target and the economy shows improvement.

Many investors will “be wondering what this means for the Fed and its rates lift-off expectations,” IG Markets Ltd. wrote in an e-mailed note. “Should all the effort we are seeing in the rest of the world stimulate global growth as intended, then perhaps this will ease pressure on the Fed.”

Investors are assessing whether muted inflation and stagnant foreign economies may prompt the Federal Reserve to wait longer before raising interest rates. Domestic employment gains had increased speculation that the central bank will raise rates this year, cutting the appeal of bullion, which generally only offers returns through price gains.

The economy’s performance in the past two quarters -- an average of 4.8 percent growth -- was the strongest in a decade. The Fed last month said it would be “patient” in raising rates for the first time since 2006.

Gold for February delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $1,296.50 on the Comex. Silver for immediate delivery retreated 0.1 percent to $18.3097 an ounce. Prices are set for a third weekly increase, the longest rally since the period ended July 11. Palladium fell 1.1 percent to $767.70 an ounce, trimming a weekly advance. Platinum lost 0.8 percent to $1,274.63 an ounce.