Fed's balance sheet expands to $7 trillion

The US Federal Reserve's balance sheet rose to a record $6.98 trillion in the week ended May 13, up from $6.72 trillion in the preceding week, the official data showed Thursday. 

Much of the expansion was fueled by a rise in holdings of mortgage-backed bonds by $178 billion, according to MarketWatch. The central bank's holdings of US treasuries also rose by $37 billion. 

The balance sheet has increased by over $2.8 trillion since the end of February, courtesy of the unprecedented monetary lifelines launched by the Fed to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The record balance sheet expansion is likely to bode well for gold, a hard currency with limited supply and decelerating pace of supply expansion. 

The yellow metal is currently trading at $1,732 per Oz, representing a 14% year-to-date gain. Prices hit a 7.5-year high of $1,747 on April 14.