The precious metal closed at $1,456.50-$1,457.50, well up from Monday's close of $1,433.00-$1,434.00, after breaking through the key $1,450 mark in London on Tuesday.

"The cost of insuring Portugal's debt rose to an all-time high, while the conflict in Libya and nuclear crisis in Japan all spurred demand," Commonwealth Bank of Australia told Dow Jones Newswires.

Gold opened at $1,454.00-$1,455.00 in Hong Kong, where markets were closed Tuesday for a public holiday.