Gold priced in pounds hits highest since May 2013

Earlier, the price hit $1,316.80, the highest since August 2014.

“That’s a big shift and an important one – it helps the overall bond market for the Fed and the investor outlook to be as close as possible”, Jim Vogel, head of interest-rate strategy at FTN Financial in Memphis, Tennessee, said about the change in officials’ projections.

Market reaction to the Fed’s expected slower pace highlights an interesting paradox: Investors want lower rates for longer but not at the expense of a weaker US economy. On Thursday, Wall Street had snapped a five-session streak of declines. The killing prompted a temporary halt to official campaigning ahead of the referendum. Meanwhile, British annual retail sales growth unexpectedly picked up speed in May.

Apple fell 1.5 percent to $96.07 after Bloomberg reported that the tech giant may have to halt the sales of its latest iPhones in Beijing after the devices were found to have violated a Chinese rival’s patent.

After falling rather sharply early in the session, stocks showed a substantial turnaround over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The Canadian dollar hit two-week lows against U.S. dollar and then eased as Britain suspended campaigning over its European Union membership status after a deadly attack on a Member of Parliament. The BOJ said central banks are in contact over Brexit, and the Bank of England repeated its warning on the risks in its final monetary-policy decision before the vote. Those minutes suggested that a rate hike was likely if hiring and economic growth strengthened and inflation showed signs of accelerating toward the Fed’s 2 percent target rate.

The dollar rose to 105.98 yen from 105.97 yen. Spot prices have bounced 7 per cent this month after sliding to 3-1/2 month lows on May 30. The dollar was also down against all major currencies on the Fed announcement, except sterling, with the US Dollar Index off 0.2% overnight below $94.50.

Global stocks have been under duress for a week amid looming uncertainty about the British vote and a focus on central bank policy.

The Federal Reserve’s decision yesterday to stay put on interest rates, followed by similar moves from the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank has led to unrest in equity markets across the globe.

In Switzerland, the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) announced that it expects the Swiss economy to grow at 1% this year.

Brent crude futures’ front-month contract settled down $1.78, or 3.6 percent, at $47.19 per barrel. USA stock market indices remain buoyant for now but the fundamentals of the USA stock market continue to deteriorate and we look set to see a very significant correction or indeed worse in the coming months.

Sterling-denominated gold rose 2 per cent to a three-year high of 928 pounds an ounce, while gold priced in euros reached its highest since April 2013 at 1,168.62 euros an ounce.