December Gold News 2021

Economists are predicting that the UK's GDP – Gross Domestic Product – will hit between 4.6% and 5% in 2022. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), Goldman Sachs, S&P Global, and HSBC are all forecasting very similar estimates for the United Kingdom next year; figures which would see Britain outperform the other G7 nations.

Major stock markets enjoyed mixed fortunes on the last day of trading before Christmas, with the FTSE 100 briefly hitting not only a pandemic high of 7,403.65 points but the highest level since February 2020 - before the first Covid lockdown when the exchange hit 7,403.92.

The FTSE 100 is amongst the major markets currently down so far today, having fallen by 1.3% so far and 2.2% at its peak drop over concerns about the latest Covid variant – Omicron.

As a result, the pound is currently down 0.4% against the US dollar at $1.3195 – undoing the gains made last week following the Bank of England's interest rate rise.

America's central bank, the Federal Reserve, has announced that it will be ending its bond-buying stimulus programme sooner than originally intended.

The move has been announced in light of the rapidly rising inflation rate in the United States – currently at 6.8% following the quickest inflation rise since the Reagan tenure in the White House.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has surprised markets today by voting to increase interest rates. After expecting a rate rise last month the BoE failed to deliver, but has instead caught markets off guard with today’s vote despite growing concerns over the new Omicron variant.

Inflation in the United Kingdom has hit 5.1% according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today. This puts inflation at a ten-year high, and confirmed the fears of economists and business owners that inflation was growing quicker than forecast.

The Central Bank of Ireland has added 2 tonnes of gold to its reserves this year, with gold purchases in September and October.

The discreet purchase sees an increase in Ireland's holdings from 6 tonnes to 8 tonnes; a sizeable 33% increase that leans into the idea that central banks are concerned about the continued inflation globally.