Investing.com - Gold prices rose to a two-week high on Wednesday, as the yellow metal drew support from fresh uncertainties surrounding Brexit.
Comex gold futures were up $9.25, or about 0.7%, at $1,307.35 a troy ounce by 9:00AM ET (13:00 GMT), after going as high as $1,309.40, its best level since March 1.
Meanwhile, spot gold was at $1,307.18 per ounce, up $5.65, or around 0.4%.
British lawmakers crushed Prime Minister Theresa May's European Union divorce deal on Tuesday, forcing parliament to decide within days whether to back a no-deal Brexit or seek a last-minute delay.
Lawmakers will now vote at 3:00PM ET (19:00 GMT) on whether Britain should quit the EU without a deal.
If, as expected, Parliament rejects leaving without an accord on March 29, there will be another vote Thursday on whether to ask the EU for more time and delay departure day.
“We have speculators all over the world betting that retail clients are going to buy gold because they could be fearing a hard Brexit, which is now more likely, and they would like to be protected against the negative consequences,” said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig.
The yellow metal is widely considered a refuge in times of political and economic uncertainty.
“The fact that the precious metal has breached the $1,300 threshold represents a positive signal, opening space for further gains,” ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said in a note.
Adding to gold’s appeal were modest U.S. inflation numbers, which added to a slew of lackluster economic data from the country, supporting the Federal Reserve’s “patient” stance on rate hikes.
The Labor Department said on Wednesday its producer price index for final demand edged up 0.1% last month, lifted by a rebound in the cost of gasoline. In the 12 months through February, the PPI rose 1.9%. That was the smallest gain since June 2017.
That came after data on Tuesday showing the consumer price index posting its smallest annual gain in nearly 2-1/2 years.
In other metals trading, silver futures were up 6.4 cents, or about 0.4%, at $15.47 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, palladium futures rallied 1.1% to $1,507.00 an ounce, while platinum gained roughly 1.5% to $844.05 an ounce.
-- Reuters contributed to this report