The price of gold shot up to £960.90 per ounce today following yesterday afternoon’s Bank of England statement, in which the BoE forecast the UK economy’s performance in the face of the various Brexit outcomes and warned of serious economic contraction with any ‘No Deal’ Brexit.
The US stock markets saw significant losses on Monday and Tuesday across the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 as tech firms – particularly Apple, down -4.5% – experienced difficulties in the face of trade disruptions between the US, China, and neighbouring nations.
The Bank of England is reportedly stalling on the repatriation of £420 million worth of gold, approximately 14 tonnes, belonging to the South American nation of Venezuela. The Banco Centrale de Venezuela (BCV) submitted a request over two months ago to have the good delivery bullion bars exported back to the country’s capital, Caracas.
Palladium is closing in on parity with gold after hitting an all-time record value of £923.23 per ounce in the early hours of this morning as a supply deficit and speculation that the Chinese automobile industry will act drove demand up sharply either side of the weekend.
Central banks are being urged to consider switching to primarily digital currencies, in keeping with the increasing amount of non-cash payments made via contactless bank cards and apps, such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as the prevalence of online banking.
Cypriot mining company Karo Resources, also known as Karo Mining Holdings, is to begin a platinum mining operation in central Zimbabwe, with an expected investment of $4.2 billion in order to assess the land, establish the mine, and begin operations.
The US stock markets experienced a sharp drop in share value on Monday as shares in tech giant Apple dropped by 5%, with the Dow Jones losing 2.3% (601 points) and the Nasdaq – a tech specialist market – losing 2.8% share value.
Pound Sterling has fallen in value today by 1.5 cents to $1.283 – lowest level in November so far – due to a combination of Dollar strength and further Brexit concerns.
The United States Mint is reported to have added a 1oz bullion Palladium coin to its production list for 2019. So far the Mint has produced proof editions in for the past two years, with strong sales for its limited issue quantities.
Cryptocurrencies require significantly more energy to generate one US Dollar in value according to a new paper published in the journal Nature Sustainability last week.
The latest figures from the European Commission have forecast growth for each of the member state of the European Union, with the UK, Italy and Denmark occupying the bottom three places for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in 2018.
The forecast sees the UK and Italy slump into a joint last place for 2019, and the UK to be alone at the bottom in 2020, with the predictions made by the European Commission based on a soft Brexit deal.
The results of yesterday’s mid-term elections have been coming through steadily today, with the Democrats gaining enough seats for a majority in the lower house of Congress. Before the voting began, many journalists and pundits were predicting a ‘Blue Wave’ of anti-Trump voting and while it wasn’t quite realised, the Democrats still gained from the Republicans quite comfortably overnight.
Canadian financial services provider TD Securities believes that the continued increase in demand for silver will lead to a sharp rise in prices next year.
Investors are erring on the side of caution today as the United States heads to the ballot box for the Midterm elections. The halfway point in the current administration’s tenure is expected to see the House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress, swing from Republican to Democrat based on current forecasts.
The Bank of England announced that it would not be raising interests yesterday, citing the uncertainty of Brexit as the deciding factor. The Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 in favour of keeping rates at their current level, not wanting to commit to a prediction for how beneficial or harmful the UK’s exit from the European Union will be next Spring.
