Gold climbed above $1,300 after the Federal Reserve scaled back the outlook for interest-rate increases and Chair Janet Yellen signalled rates may stay lower for longer. Assets in silver-backed exchange-traded funds jumped to a record.

Bullion for immediate delivery advanced as much as 0.8 percent to $1,301.45 an ounce, the highest level since May 3, before trading at $1,300.28 by 11:59 am Singapore time, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.

Prices have surged 22 percent this year as increasing global economic and political risk drives investors in search of havens.

The Fed held policy steady at its meeting Wednesday and officials reduced expectations for increases in borrowing costs through 2018, while the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged on Thursday. Adding to demand for bullion is investor anxiety over a British vote on June 23 on whether to leave the European Union.

“From the cautious tone set by Yellen last night and the Fed, we saw a weaker dollar and stronger gold,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “As well as that, concerns remain about Brexit. The market is looking to the possibility of volatility and safe haven assets continue to do well, including gold.”

Britons Choose

Gold will rally if Britons vote to exit the EU, reaching $1,350 within a week of the vote, according to a Bloomberg survey of 22 traders and analysts. Should a majority choose to remain in the bloc, bullion might slide to $1,250, the survey showed. There’s a “good chance” of gold getting into the resistance level zone between $1,310 and $1,340, Spooner said.

The BOJ refrained from expanding monetary stimulus as Governor Haruhiko Kuroda and his board continue to gauge the economic impact of their unpopular negative-rate policy ahead of an election next month. The yen soared while the greenback extended Wednesday’s slide after the Fed meeting.

Investors are still piling into precious metals with assets in gold-backed exchange-traded funds at the highest level since October 2013 and silver holdings at an all-time high of 20,227.2 tonnes as of June 15, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver for immediate delivery advanced as much as 1.4 percent to $17.7617 an ounce, the highest since May 2, bringing this year’s gain to 28 percent. Palladium rose 1.1 percent and platinum added 0.9 percent. - Bloomberg