November 9, 2016 — 2:17 PM CET
Photographer: Akos Stiller/Bloomberg
Donald Trump’s victory is also a win for gold brokers.Gold is having one of its heaviest trading days ever as investors rushed to havens on concern Trump’s presidency will upend decades of U.S. economic and foreign policy. About 570,000 futures changed hands by 8:06 a.m. in New York, based on data using the most-active Comex contract.That’s triple the full-day average this year and U.S. trading is just getting underway.
There are only two other instances of higher gold volume, June 24, after Britain decided to leave the European Union, and April 15, 2013, when gold had its biggest slump in three decades.
Brokers will earn more commission from more people wanting to trade bullion and profit from increased volatility. Gold futures jumped as much as 5 percent in early trading before paring some of the gains as financial markets calmed.BullionVault, an online trading service, said client activity in the three hours to 6 a.m. London time exceeded the amount traded on Tuesday. Buying outweighed selling by three-to-one, according to an e-mail from Adrian Ash, the head of research.“Gold is where all the action is at the moment,” Bernard Sin, head of precious metals trading at MKS (Switzerland) SA, said by phone from Geneva. “It looks like hot money coming in, people are trying to make money on the move up in gold.”
In a result that stunned political pundits, polling companies and financial markets, Trump was elected on pledges that included reneging on global trade deals that he says have cost American jobs.A Trump presidency could send bullion to $1,395 an ounce, according to more than 20 analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg before the vote. Futures were up 2.2 percent to $1,303.51 on Wednesday.