Snap UK General Election announcement leads to uplift in gold investing, new Royal Mint data reveals
3 June 2024
The Royal Mint, the home of precious metals investing, has announced today that it has seen a surge in gold and precious metals investing following the announcement of a snap UK General Election by the Prime Minister on the 22nd May.
Since the snap election was called, there has been a 49% increase in the number of customers buying precious metals bullion through The Royal Mint while the volume of gold purchases has doubled (up 117%) from the previous week. The Royal Mint’s bullion division has seen customer spend increase by 145% week-on-week while there has been a 10% uplift in first-time investors.
42% of investors last week were Generation X (aged 44-59). Physical investment products including 1oz gold and silver Britannia coins, large gold bars, and sovereign coins have proven to be particularly popular alongside The Royal Mint’s suite of digital products.
Commenting on the data, Stuart O’Reilly, The Royal Mint’s Market Insight Manager said:
“The uplift in precious metals investing we have seen over the past week seems to have been driven by ‘safe-haven’ buying from investors who are attempting to mitigate the risks associated with the current uncertainty. Elections lead to increased questions around the future of the economy, tax, and security which can cause spikes in investment activity and greater interest in precious metals. Due to gold’s safe-haven status and lack of correlation with other assets, we tend to see surges in the buying of gold coins and bars when investors are uncertain about the future. In addition to the general election, investors are keeping a close eye on whether interest rates will come down and when that might happen, as well as looking ahead to America’s elections in November.”
(Figures compare the seven days following the UK general election announcement with the seven days prior, 15th-21st May vs 23rd-29th May)