Gold and silver prices jumped Wednesday amid speculation that QE3 lies just around the bend — and those metal prices, as well as some good news from Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), helped buoy gold and silver miners.

Gold futures about traded 2% higher Wednesday with a final bid of $1,608.10 per ounce, according to CME Group data. Gold prices reached a high of $1,610 and a low of $1,577.90. Gold bullion ended higher trading at $1,607 per ounce for Wednesday’s trading session in London, according to BullionVault.

For most of the past 10 weeks, gold has traded in a range within $50 of $1,600 an ounce. This trend may continue unless stimulus programs are implemented.

“Intervention by central banks in the form of stimulus will help gold break away from the range,” Nick Trevethan, senior metals strategist at ANZ Bank told BullionVault.

Silver futures were up 2% with a final bid of $27.45 per ounce. Wednesday’s high for silver prices reached $27.50, and the low was $26.83.

Gold and silver trusts showed significant gains Wednesday.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was up 1.4%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also was up 1.4%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) climbed 1.2%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs jumped Wednesday.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) climbed 3.5%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) was up 4%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) was 3.4% higher.

Most gold miners rebounded with healthy gains Wednesday. In other mining news, Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) has formed an alliance with Miranda Gold (PINK:MRDDF) exploration activities in Columbia.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines was up 3.7%.
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) was 2.1% higher.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) gained 2.4%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) climbed 3.5%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) was 4.4% higher.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) rose 3.2%.
• NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) was 1.3% higher.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) was up 3.9%.

Silver mining shares soared Wednesday, with Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) leading the way.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) was up 3.2%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) was 4.1% higher.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) was 2.5% lower.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) jumped 4.7%.
• Silver Standard Resources gained 6.7%.

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