Gold resumed its rise on Wednesday after the last session's drop from record highs, as investors focused on economic uncertainty despite progress in talks on raising the US debt limit and ahead of a eurozone summit aimed at resolving the region's debt crisis.
Gold is about 1 percent below its record high of $1,609.51 a day after the metal snapped an 11-day winning streak, the longest in four decades. Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,596.09 an ounce by 2:49 P.m. EDT (1849 GMT). US gold futures for August delivery settled down $4.20 an ounce at $1,596.90, reflecting Tuesday's decline after the contract's settlement. August traded between $1,581.10 and $1,600.80. Trading activity was about one-third below its 30-day average.
Silver was up 2.1 percent at $39.76 an ounce. Platinum group metals also rose, with platinum up 0.5 percent at $1,770.99 an ounce, while palladium was up 0.7 percent at $790.72 an ounce.