(Bloomberg) -- Silver Climbs to $34.795 in London, Highest Since March 1980

Silver for immediate delivery climbed to $34.795 an ounce at 11:43 a.m. in London, the highest price since March 6, 1980.

(FT) -- Gold touches all-time high

Gold hit an all-time high and oil surged higher after the US said it was moving military resources to the Mediterranean heightening fears of a full-blown war in the Middle East.

The US said it was moving marines and two warships into the Mediterranean on Tuesday night amid growing international pressure on Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, to stand aside.

Spot bullion rose 1.5 per cent to a record $1,432.10 a troy ounce, surpassing the peak of $1,430.95 hit in December. ICE April Brent rose 3.2 per cent to $115.56 a barrel, the highest since a spike on Thursday that took the global oil pricing benchmark to within cents of $120.

“Guns and oil are a bullish mixture anywhere in the Middle East and north Africa,” said Michael Wittner, head of oil research at Société Générale in New York.

Gold glistens

Gold prices have jumped 9.5 per cent from a low of $1,308 in January, as investors have become increasingly jittery over escalating political unrest in the Middle East.

At the same time, silver has risen 30 per cent from its January lows, on Tuesday hitting a 30-year high of $34.59 a troy ounce.

Some investors trimmed their gold positions in January, believing a rosier outlook for the US economy would boost returns on other assets.