Gold jumped the most since October as a four-day slump and speculation that the Federal Reserve will announce more stimulus for the U.S. economy boosted demand for the precious metal.

The metal tumbled 3.7 percent in the past four sessions as Greek politicians prepared for a second election, raising concern that the country may exit the euro bloc. The Philadelphia Fed’s general economic index, a gauge of regional manufacturing, fell to minus 5.8 in May, signaling contraction. Economists in a Bloomberg survey were expecting a rise to 10.

“People are coming back to gold as prices have fallen very sharply,” Adam Klopfenstein, a market strategist at Archer Financial Services Inc. in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “Murmurs about the Fed looking at some kind of easing because of soft U.S. data are gaining momentum, and that’s good for gold as any kind of easing is inflationary.”

Gold futures for June delivery rose 2.5 percent to $1,574.90 an ounce at 1:47 p.m. on the Comex in New York. That’s the biggest gain for a most-active contract since Oct. 25. Yesterday, prices retreated to $1,526.70, the lowest since Dec. 29.

Silver futures for July delivery surged 3 percent to $28.02 an ounce, the biggest advance since April 12.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, platinum futures for July delivery rose 1.5 percent to $1,453.40 an ounce, and June delivery palladium futures rose 2 percent to $605.85 an ounce.