Gold jumped about 2% on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it would launch a new round of quantitative easing, signaling to investors that the Fed is more concerned with spurring growth than keeping inflation low.

Gold futures for December delivery rose to $1,772.10 on Thursday, according to CME Group. Gold traded as high as $1,775 and as low as $1,720. Gold bullion closed in London at $1,767, according to BullionVault.

Silver futures climbed 4.5% to $34.78 per ounce. Thursday’s high for silver hit $34.87, while the low was $32.72.

Gold and silver funds posted strong gains on Thursday.

• The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) rose 2%.
• The iShares Gold Trust (NYSE:IAU) also was up 2%.
• The iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) gained 4.4%.

Gold and silver mining ETFs also cruised.

• The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) jumped 5%.
• The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDXJ) increased 4.2%.
• The Global X Silver Miners ETF (NYSE:SIL) soared 7.5%.

Gold mining shares rose strongly for the day, with NovaGold Resources (AMEX:NG) leading the way.

• Agnico-Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) was up 3.8%
• Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX) gained 4.8%.
• Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO) rose 4.4%.
• Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) jumped 5.5%.
• Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) moved up 3.6%.
• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) increased 5.5%.
• NovaGold Resources leaped 7%.
• Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) closed up 6%

Silver mining shares also boldly marched north.

• Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) rose 6.9%.
• Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) jumped 7.4%.
• Pan American Silver (NASDAQ:PAAS) improved 5.5%.
• Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) increased 5.7%.
• Silver Standard Resources (NASDAQ:SSRI) move up 5.6%.

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.