Gold soars in value as Brexit vote became apparent

Gold, the traditional safe haven in times of market turmoil, has soared in value overnight, jumping 22% in sterling terms in a dramatic indication of worldwide panic over Britain’s exit from the EU.

As the polls closed at 10pm last night gold was trading at $1,130.27 an ounce, but it started to accelerate swiftly as early results from the referendum began to feed through.

On Friday morning it was trading at $1,336.66, a jump of 6.3% in dollar terms, but much more in sterling terms once the fall in the pound is taken into account.

Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault.com, said the surge in the gold price was the fastest move against the pound in history.

“The surging gold price clearly shows the panic sweeping financial markets. Gold jumped 22% against the pound overnight, its fastest ever move, leaping to new third-year highs above £1,000 per ounce.

“This is just the kind of crisis which gold helps savers and investors insure against.”

The Royal Mint said demand for gold bars and coins had soared after the result became clear. Visits to its bullion-trading platform were up more than fivefold compared with Thursday and new account openings more than tripled.

In recent weeks the gold price has been rising not just on fears of a Brexit, but on expectations that the US Federal Reserve may be less likely to raise borrowing costs than previously thought.