LONDON: Gold rose on Monday, staying close to the more than two-year high hit on Friday as uncertainty over Britain’s vote to leave the European Union pushed investors to sell equities and seek safer assets.

Bullion surged 4.8 per cent on Friday, its biggest one-day gain since January 2009 as the British vote sparked sales of riskier assets. Gold is often perceived as a hedge against economic and financial risk.

Spot gold rose as much as 1.5pc to a session high of $1,335.30 an ounce and was up 0.7pc at $1,325.01 by 1359 GMT.

It rallied 8pc to $1,358.20 at one stage on Friday, the highest price since March 2014. Gold denominated in sterling rose to its highest since April 2013 on Friday, as the currency fell to its lowest against the dollar in 31 years.

“The uncertainty around the timing of negotiations to leave the EU means that not only do investors become more defensive and buy things like gold and the dollar, but it also keeps sterling under pressure and translates into a permanent loss of economic activity at domestic level,” ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold said.

Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, jumped 2pc to 934.31 tonnes on Friday, the highest since July 2013.

China’s gold imports via the main conduit Hong Kong rose nearly 68pc in May to the highest since December, data showed on Monday.

Spot silver rose 0.4pc to $17.75 an ounce, after hitting its highest since January 2015 at $18.31 on Friday. Platinum was unchanged at $983.50 an ounce and palladium was up 0.9pc at $551.97.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2016