Commodities were swept up in a global market frenzy as investors sold assets linked to economic growth such as oil and copper and sought safety in precious metals after U.K. voters opted to leave the European Union.

Gold posted its biggest one-day gain since the global financial crisis of 2008 and silver jumped the most in 18 months after U.K. voters backed the "Leave" campaign by 52 percent to 48 percent in a referendum on EU membership.

Brent crude futures slumped as much as 6.6 percent, and copper in London sank the most since Jan. 7 as the U.S. dollar surged. The Bloomberg Commodities Index of returns on 22 raw materials fell as much as 2.2 percent, the most since January.

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