Investors are buying gold-backed funds in the longest stretch in more than three years, a sign bullion is regaining its role as a haven asset.

Assets in exchange-traded products backed by the metal have jumped more than 4 percent this year and are the highest since early November. Holdings have advanced for 11 straight sessions, the longest run since December 2012. Gold futures rose to a three-month high on Tuesday amid sagging equities and crude oil.

Demand for a store of value increased this year as China’s slowdown and volatile equities roiled global financial markets, prompting traders to push back expectations of when the Federal Reserve will next raise interest rates. Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Monday that it’s difficult to gauge the impact on the economy from market turbulence and uncertainty over China. 

“It looks like there’s some flight back into safety,” Phil Streible, a senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “Gold is getting a nice bid as ETF holdings are near a three-month high.”

Gold futures for April delivery climbed 0.1 percent to $1,129 an ounce at 10:12 a.m. on the Comex in New York, after touching $1,131.50, the highest since Nov. 3. Prices have climbed to near the 200-day moving average, a level last breached in October.

“Investor sentiment remains broadly risk-off, which is positive for gold,” Jonathan Butler, a precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi Corp. in London, said by e-mail. Investors may further increase ETP purchases if prices climb above the 200-day moving average, he said.

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