Gold surged 1.3 percent on Wednesday, hitting a near six-month high as fears of more corporate defaults in China and the geopolitical tug-of-war between Russia, Ukraine and the West boosted bullion's appeal as an insurance against riskier assets. Spot gold gained 1.3 percent to $1,367.04 an ounce by 1:59 pm EDT (1759 GMT), having reached $1,370.60, the loftiest since September 20.
US COMEX gold futures for April delivery settled up $23.80 at $1,370.50 an ounce. Trading volume was about 250,000 lots, 65 percent above its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Wednesday's turnover is set to be its highest since January 29. In other precious metals, silver gained 2.1 percent to $21.25 an ounce. Platinum was up 0.8 percent at $1,469 an ounce, while palladium rose 0.8 percent to $771.10 an ounce.