Prices for gold, silver and key agricultural commodities are up, even as stocks and crude oil prices fall.
Silver for March delivery rose nearly 2 percent, gaining 52.5 cents to settle at $30.203 an ounce Friday.
Gold also rose after investors' hopes for a pre-Christmas deal on the U.S. budget talks all but disappeared. House Republicans canceled a vote on a tax bill aimed at avoiding the "fiscal cliff."
Prices for wheat, corn and soybeans rose.
In energy trading, benchmark crude oil fell $1.47 to $88.66 a barrel, the lowest in three weeks. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, also fell, a sign that investors are worried the economy could slow.
Prices for other metals ended mixed. Copper and palladium rose, while platinum fell.
