Yesterday’s decision by the Federal Reserve not to taper its monthly bond buying for the time being, sent gold soaring in Thursday trading.

The Fed surprised economists by concluding its Federal Open Markets Committee meeting with a statement leaving its stimulus program in place. The Fed had sent signals over the last several months that led Wall Street to expect that the central bank would begin trimming its monthly bond purchases in the short term.

Gold futures for December delivery settled shot up 4.7% to $1,369.30 per ounce on Thursday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,375.40 and as low as $1,358.50. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,370, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures for December delivery surged 8% to $23.29 per ounce. Thursday’s high for silver was $23.45, while the low was $22.86.

Gold and silver funds edged lower in Thursday trading.

• The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) slipped 0.3%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (IAU) moved down 0.2%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (SLV) slid 0.5%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs pulled back during the day.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) declined 3.4%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) dropped 4%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) fell 2.7%.

Gold mining shares retreated Thursday.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM) slipped 2.5%.
• Barrick Gold (ABX) fell 3.3%.
• Eldorado Gold (EGO) sank 3.4%.
• Goldcorp (GG) slid 4.1%.
• Kinross Gold (KGC) moved down 2.8%.
• Newmont Mining (NEM) dropped 3.5%.
• NovaGold Resources (NG) tumbled 6.5%.
• Yamana Gold (AUY) declined 2.4%.

Silver mining shares sank during the day.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) fell 1.7%.
• Hecla Mining (HL) dipped 0.9%.
• Pan American Silver (PAAS) declined 2.6%.
• Silver Wheaton (SLW) slipped 1.7%.
• Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) dropped 5.3%.

As of this writing, Christopher Freeburn did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities. Adrian Ash of BullionVault contributed to this report.