refiners

When Congress mandated in 2007 that refiners blend a rising volume of ethanol into gasoline, fuel consumption had been growing for years.

Then came the recession.

It was a banner day Wednesday for precious metals, oil and U.S. stocks. Gold briefly climbed above $941 and silver topped $13.

In the end, the yellow metal retreated from its intraday high but still closed to its best level in nearly two weeks.

Platinum advanced as well while crude-oil broke a three-day losing streak on news of increased demand from refiners.

U.S. stocks rallied with all three major indexes rising at least 3 percent.