Polls leaning towards an Exit from the European Union have led to an increase in appetite for gold bullion, with demand for the safe-haven metal spiking.
The latest online polls from ICM and YouGov showed the Leave campaign had taken a 4-5 percentage point lead ahead of this month’s referendum, panicking investors. Ross Norman, chief executive of Mayfair gold showroom Sharps Pixley, told Reuters: “It seems to have sunk into people’s consciousness that Brexit is a real possibility now. All stocks are being bought out in advance of even being shipped.”
The UK gold dealer The Pure Gold Company is another gold merchant to have seen an increase in interest, with enquiries to buy gold bars up 19 percent over the weekend compared to last week. Investing in gold can involve buying into a range of products, from 1 gram bars for less than 50 pounds to kilobars priced at more than £28,000.
Gold has also been in demand for other reasons of late, trading at a three-week high after the European Central Bank announced further positive measures, alongside the prospect of lower US rates for longer. The ECB entered a corporate bond buying programme earlier this week, buying the debt of some of the continent’s biggest companies, with disappointing US jobs figures making a rate hike unlikely at this months meeting.
09/06/2016
