Gold rose and silver surged 3 percent on Wednesday, as rallying grain and crude oil prices and lingering worries about a European debt crisis lifted precious metals in a commodity rally.
Bullion is now heading for its biggest one-day gain in over a week, snapping a three-session losing streak. Trading volume, however, was quieter than usual, a sign that funds were less active participants following a sharp sell-off.
Spot gold rose 0.7 percent to $1,494.79 an ounce by 3:24 pm EDT (1924 GMT). US gold futures for June delivery settled up $15.80 an ounce at $1,495.80, after trading in a range from $1,484.60 to $1,499.70. Gold and silver prices largely held onto their early gains even as minutes of the Federal Reserve's April meeting showed most Fed officials prefer to raise benchmark interest rates before selling assets when the time comes to tighten policy.
Silver was last up 3.1 percent on the day at $34.97. COMEX gold and silver futures volume was sharply below their 30-day norms again, reversing a trend of heavier turnover during recent sell-offs. Among other precious metals, platinum was up 0.3 percent at $1,766.50, while palladium rose 1.7 percent to $731.97.