Gold and most other metals closed higher Wednesday, as escalating tensions in Egypt pushed the price of crude oil and other energy futures higher.
Gold for August delivery rose $8.50, or 0.7 percent, to settle at $1,251.90 an ounce Wednesday. Silver and copper also rose, but platinum and palladium fell.
Silver for July delivery rose 39.1 cents, or 2 percent, to $19.689 an ounce. July copper rose 3.2 cents, or 1 percent, to $3.1740 a pound.
July platinum fell $21, or 1.5 percent, to $1,345.30 an ounce and September palladium fell $3.20, or 0.5 percent, to $685.70 an ounce.
Crude oil rose to its highest level in more than a year as Egypt's political turmoil escalated and U.S. supplies fell. Egypt's military ousted embattled President Mohammed Morsi, suspended the country's constitution and called early elections.
Benchmark oil rose $1.64 to $101.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose to $102.18 a barrel earlier, its highest price since last May.
U.S. crude supplies fell by 10.3 million barrels from the previous week, the Energy Department reported, more than three times the drop that analysts had expected.
In other energy futures trading, natural gas gained 4 cents to end at $3.69 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil added 5 cents to finish at $2.95 per gallon, and wholesale gasoline rose 5 cents to end at $2.84 per gallon.
Wheat and soybeans rose. Corn ended flat.
Wheat for September delivery rose 6.75 cents to $6.65 a bushel. Soybeans for November delivery rose 8.25 cents to $12.5075 a bushel. Corn for December delivery was unchanged at $5.0275 a bushel.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Independence Day.
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