Tokyo Commodity Exchange platinum hit a fresh 19-year high and palladium surged almost 4 percent to a one-year peak, tracing strength in gold, although market thinness could have exaggerated the upward move.
Although bullish gold sentiment helped lift the mood in other precious metals, some uncertainty was growing because the market lacks distinct factors to take on new positions in the yellow metal amid mounting net long positions in New York.
"The trend is strong ... the latest rise was triggered by the strength in oil prices, but I'm not sure whether there are convincing reasons to take more positions in gold from here," said Tatsuo Kageyama, analyst at Kanetsu Asset Management.
"Gold needs factors of its own to test higher levels, but an upward momentum is starting to build up again."
Key August TOCOM gold closed up 19 yen, or 1.09 percent, at 1,757 yen per gram from Tuesday's close of 1,738 yen.
The key contract reached a session peak of 1,761 yen - the highest since October 19.
Technical trends looked strong after breaking through Monday's high of 1,742 yen, and one- and two-week moving averages at 1,740 and 1,743 yen respectively.
Tokyo players could test the key contract towards its 14-year high of 1,771 yen reached two weeks ago, but the market will closely watch movements of dollar-based prices to determine the near-term trend.
Other gold contracts closed up 17 to 19 yen.
TOCOM precious metals gained strength after US gold futures surged 1.7 percent to end at a one-week peak the previous day on the back of a weaker dollar and firmer oil prices.
Spot gold maintained strength in Asia. At 0714 GMT, spot gold was trading at $473.60/474.40 an ounce, up from $472.20/473.00 in New York on Tuesday.
Benchmark August TOCOM platinum rose as high as 3,459 yen per gram - its loftiest since September 1986.
Speculators are keen to push up the August contract to a record high of 3,520 yen, but the market is nervous about taking big positions ahead of an interim report by London-based precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey on November 15.
August platinum closed at 3,451 yen, up 26 yen or 0.76 percent from Tuesday. Other contracts ended up 24 to 31 yen.
Sister metal palladium rallied across the board, tracing gains in gold and platinum. Benchmark August palladium futures closed at 810 yen, up 30 yen or 3.85 percent from Tuesday's close.
It hit a high of 811 yen - the highest since October 12, 2004. Below are closing prices for TOCOM's most active precious metals contracts, with the day's turnover for each metal.