Gold News

An unusual anomaly in gold exports from the UK has triggered what one Conservative MP called a ‘record breaking year for UK exports’, though the reality appears to be somewhat different...

Official figures show the UK economy has stalled in the final quarter of 2019, as Brexit uncertainty dragged down businesses.

Consumer spending was poor considering the crucial Christmas period; but it was manufacturing in particular that performed poorly.

A collection of Iron Age gold coins has been declared treasure by Suffolk’s senior coroner, having been discovered almost a year ago.

19 coins were found near Blythburgh, Suffolk last February by a metal detectorist. The anonymous finder reported the discovery to Suffolk County Council, and through them the coins have been the subject of cleaning and analysis for the past year, ready for sale to museums keen to display the collection to the public.

The price of gold has made slight gains in the past 24 hours, peaking at $1,576.46 per ounce just before midnight as the Asian markets opened and reacted to the latest coronavirus news.

Prices today have risen due to the confirmation that the coronavirus death toll has now surpassed that of SARS. The UK today reported four new cases of coronavirus, while in Japan the Nissan car factory in Kyushu has suspended production while the virus is still prevalent.

After a strong 2019, gold-backed ETFs continued to perform strongly at the start of 2020, registering a new record high number of holdings at 2,947 tonnes of gold.

33 tonnes of January’s increased ETF holdings came from Europe, with the UK the primary source of gold-backed ETF demand at 21 tonnes ($1.1 billion).

China has announced it will be cutting tariffs on $75 billion worth of goods by half, in a major boost to global stock markets amidst the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

The CSI 300 index in China rose by 1.86%, while the Hang Seng rose by 2.4%. In Europe, the STOXX 600 hit a new record high of 424.80 points, courtesy of strengthening stocks in the UK, France, and Germany.

The price of gold has fallen this morning by £12 an ounce, following unconfirmed reports in the Chinese media that a drug has been found to help treat patients infected with coronavirus.

China’s Shanghai Composite index registered a loss of 7.72% today (-229.82 points) as fears over the rapidly spreading Coronavirus were finally reflected on the previously-closed Asian markets.

Investors are wary of backing markets – especially Chinese ones – in the face of reduced operations. With business effectively on hold, many investors see little point in putting money into the system.

A new international bullion exchange has been proposed as part of the Union Budget in India this weekend. In a speech to India’s parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled plans for an exchange to be created in Gujarat’s GIFT City, with investors optimistic this would be a managed way around current strict import restrictions on gold and silver, as well as overvalued exports.

The latest statistics from the World Gold Council (WGC) have revealed that gold purchases for national reserves totalled 650.3 tonnes – 1% less than demand for physical gold in 2018 (656.2 tonnes).

Despite the narrow miss of the 2018 total, 2019’s figures still make it the second highest year in the last 50 for gold bullion demand from central banks.

The Eurozone reported weak growth of just 0.1% for the final quarter of 2019 earlier today, with the regional economy hit by economic shrinkage in major players France and Italy. It is expected that Germany too will join in with negative GDP figures when it publishes its data next month.

The Bank of England announced today that it would not be cutting interest rates from the current 0.75%.

The ongoing global economic slowdown, exacerbated by Brexit uncertainty and the US/China trade war, has impacted the forecast GDP growth in 2020 however, cutting a third off the predicted rate from 1.2% economic growth to just 0.8%.

The state of New South Wales in Australia is experiencing a 100-year low for rainfall – for the second year running. The damage of drought in the region is having a knock-on effect on gold mining, with Newcrest Mining warning of a likely drop in gold production in the state.

Global stock markets have been hit by the latest coronavirus fears, which based on the latest figures has left 81 dead and over 2,800 people confirmed ill.

Coronaviruses are not a new phenomenon, but this is a new strain, and scientists aren’t certain of its incubation period, how quickly it can spread, or how severely it impacts people. 

The United States Federal Reserve has added $90.8 billion this week into financial markets, in order to allow institutions to continue lending to the repo market whilst maintaining their legally required reserves.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Fed balance sheet is $380 billion greater now - $4.18 trillion – than the $3.8 trillion level in September when a lending shortage in the repo market first came to light.

The World Gold Council (WGC) published its 2020 forecast on Wednesday, with few surprises in their predictions for gold’s movement this year.

Continuing from its success in 2019, palladium is experiencing another market value surge – rising to $2,539.14 per ounce on Friday to record its best week since 2001 and the biggest one-day price rise since 2008.

The precious metal pushed on further this morning, setting a new all-time record of $2,580.50 at 8:38am UK time, before settling back to the current price of $2,557.00.

A Sovereign coin depicting Edward VIII, uncle of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has been sold to a private buyer in the UK for a record £1 million for a coin.

The 22-carat coin was discovered by the Royal Mint’s verification team, who found it to be owned by an American collector who was looking to sell the coin on.

In 2019 it felt like silver was the forgotten metal. The reality though, is that silver is not a bad investment - far from it. Statistically, silver actually gained 16.83% in value for 2019; rising from $15.44 to $18.04 per ounce.

This is hardly a failure to attract demand and puts it ahead of gold in terms of price growth, meaning that in what was a stellar year for it, gold was actually the worst performing of the big four precious metals.

The Pound is at a two-week low and is once again under pressure, following the release of poor retail and GDP figures for the final months of 2019.

Figures for GDP showed the UK economy contracted by 0.3% in November, putting the end of 2019 overall at near-stagnation of 0.1%.