Oil futures soared to a four-month high on Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that it will launch its third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, by purchasing mortgage-backed securities 'to support a stronger economic recovery'.

October delivery oil futures rose $1.30 or 1.3% to $98.31 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest level since around the beginning of May.

The commodity was also boosted by reports of unrest in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, things were looking distinctly less rosy in other energy commodities, with heating oil settling down 0.12% at $3.21 per gallon, natural gas down 0.85% at $3.04 per million British thermal units, and unleaded gas down 1.31% at $2.96 per gallon.

In metals, gold climbed 2.21%, or $38.40, to $1,772.10 per troy ounce on the December delivery contract, its highest level in almost seven months, boosted by the Fed's plans.

The Fed said it will buy $40bn of agency mortgage-backed securities each month, starting this Friday. It is also sticking with Operation Twist, the programme where it swaps short-dated securities for longer term securities.

Meanwhile, silver was 4.46% higher at $34.78 per troy ounce, while platinum gained 1.81% to $1,679.50 and copper climbed 0.47% to $3.71.

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