Gold is regaining some of its appeal to investors as a partial shutdown of the U.S. government enters a second day.
The price of the actively traded December contract for gold jumped $34.60, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $1,320.70 an ounce Wednesday.
Silver also rose sharply. The December contract rose 72.2 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $21.897 an ounce.
Financial markets were edgy Wednesday, as traders considered the prospect that political gridlock in Washington could lead to an extended, albeit partial, shutdown of the U.S. government.