Gold rose for the second straight day on speculation that higher raw-material costs and record-low interest rates will spur demand for an inflation hedge. Silver jumped 3 percent. U.S. wholesale costs gained 0.7 percent in March, led by surging energy, the government said. Compared with a year earlier, prices climbed 5.8 percent. Before today, gold gained 26 percent in the past year, reaching a record $1,478 an ounce on April 11. “We are seeing increasing inflationary expectations, and investors are putting on hedges,” said Matthew Zeman, a strategist at Kingsview Financial in Chicago. “Gold is catching a nice bid.” Gold futures for June delivery rose $15.10, or 1 percent, to $1,470.70 at 10:53 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Yesterday, the price gained 0.1 percent. Silver futures for May delivery rose $1.193 to $41.33 an ounce. On April 11, the price reached $41.975, the highest since 1980. In that year, the metal reached a record $50.35. Palladium futures for June delivery gained $2.90, or 0.4 percent, to $768.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Platinum futures for July delivery climbed $6.70, or 0.4 percent, to $1,783.90 an ounce. To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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