Gold futures end slightly higher on Wednesday after hitting a record breaking high of $894.40 an ounce during morning trading as high oil prices and nervousness about the U.S. economy pushed the precious metal up for the second straight day.

February gold closed $1.40 higher at $881.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Shortly after pit trade closed, the February contract at the Chicago Board of Trade was also up $1.40 to $881.70.

The $900 mark has quickly come within range as index re-balancing adds additional momentum to the already steady investment inflows prompted by lower interest rate expectations, oil-related inflation and the current geo-political tensions, said James Moore, an analyst at TheBullionDesk.com, in a research note.

The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.5 percent to 76.460.

Meanwhile, April platinum settled $2.20 lower at $1,558.30 an ounce, while March palladium ended 80 cents higher at $382.60 an ounce.

Crude-oil futures ended lower as traders factored in worries about a possible U.S. recession and an eighth week of declining U.S. crude inventories. Crude oil ended $95.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Precious metal Investment Gold