Gold and silver prices are surging ahead of May's 'hard Brexit' speech

LONDON - Gold and silver prices are surging ahead of Theresa May's 'Hard Brexit' speech this morning, and Donald Trump's inauguration on November 20.

As of 9.04 a.m. GMT (4.04 a.m. ET) it is trading just above $1,212 (£1000) per ounce, up by 1.38%.

Here's what it looks like at the moment:

That's because gold is traditionally a safe haven which investors buy up during times of market volatility, as the precious metal typically retains its long-term value better than other assets like stocks and futures. Prices have risen by 5.6% already this year and rallied every day in 2017 apart from a single session, as investors get to grips with the new economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and a Trump presidency.

Theresa May is expected to announce at 11.45 a.m. this morning that Britain will leave the EU's single market after Brexit, and the prime minister's staff have already warned of a "market correction."

Despite that, the pound has actually risen against the dollar this morning, partly because of a badly-performing dollar, and partly because the contents of May's speech have already been published.

Neil Wilson of ETX Capital said in a note that "gold has risen amid a bid for safer assets ahead of [Theresa May's] speech and Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday," and analysts Mike van Dulken & Henry Croft at Accendo markets said in a note that "political drivers" had driven the precious metal above the $1200 mark.

Silver - another safe haven - is popping too. It's trading at just over $17 (£14) per ounce as of 9.02 a.m. GMT (4.02 a.m. ET), having seen an intraday uptick of 1.56%. Here's the chart:

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