Gold Up 5.5% YTD – Hard Brexit Cometh And Weaker Dollar Under Trump

Gold prices extended their run of gains to a seventh session and added another $12 to $1,215 an ounce yesterday. Gold prices have consolidated on those gains today and are now up 5.5% in dollar and sterling terms and 5% in euro terms year to date.

Gold in USD – 1 Year

Gold bullion has risen every day except one so far in 2017, building on the 8.1 percent gain in 2016. Investors are concerned about the huge uncertainty facing us from a ‘Hard Brexit’ and the potential for political and financial contagion in the EU as we head into the new year.

Although the pound bounced higher after recent sharp falls, the FTSE 100 fell 1.5% and suffered worst day since immediate aftermath of the EU referendum.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the UK will have a “Hard Brexit” and will leave the European Union’s single market while seeking a new arrangement on the customs union.

May warned EU politicians that the UK is prepared to crash out of the EU if it cannot negotiate a reasonable exit deal in a speech where her tough talking rhetoric prompted key figures in Brussels to say that the country was on track for a “Hard Brexit”.

The prime minister told EU counterparts that any attempt to inflict a punitive outcome on the UK would be an “act of calamitous self-harm” for the EU because the UK would retaliate and slash taxes to attract companies from across the world.

Although May said that the UK could be the EU’s “best friend” if the article 50 divorce talks went well, in a one-hour address intended to spell out the UK’s negotiating strategy, she also said she was prepared to walk away from the EU.

If that were not enough for markets to digest, the Donald Trump is just three days away from being sworn in as the next U.S. president.

US President-elect Trump told the Wall Street Journal that the strong dollar is “killing” the ability of US companies to compete, sending the greenback reeling yesterday.

His comments also appeared to send U.S. equity markets lower. The S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3 percent and the NASDAQ Composite fell by more, falling 0.6 percent due to a selloff in biotechnology shares.

Credit Card Limits Increased To 50,000 (£ $ €)

Due to ongoing requests for higher credit and debit card transactions, we have increased our maximum card transaction sizes from 5,000 to 50,000 GBP, EUR or USD.

• You can now lock in prices online and transact immediately for up to 50,000 (GBP, EUR or USD) on your Visa and Mastercard credit cards (not American Express) for one transaction
• We do not limit card payments to 50,000 per day but to 50,000 per individual transaction. This means that clients can do a number of transactions for 50,000 on a single day. Certain banks may have restrictions in this regard.
• In the volatile markets of today, this added liquidity is advantageous and, to our knowledge, these are the highest credit and debit card transaction limits in the bullion market. This will be attractive to investors seeking to lock in prices without having to wait for funds to clear first.
• Credit and debit card rates have come down significantly and are now 1.9% for credit cards and 0.45% for debit cards. Please keep in mind that this is subject to your own credit card limits.