Scots buy gold by referendum?

In the run-up to the referendum on secession from Scotland decide Scots more buy gold. That's according to Bullionvault, an online provider of gold that is also active in Scotland. Over the past two weeks, the company has recorded a 42% increase in demand for gold, on top of the increase normally seen at this time of year.

Bullionvault analyzed its customers' transactions and filtered out about 50,000 customers residing in the United Kingdom. Of that group, a distinction was made between customers in Scotland and customers in the rest of the United Kingdom on the basis of postcode. It then compared Scotland's overall market share for the first half of September and for the previous months.

It turned out that Scotland's market share in September was 42% higher than the average market share over previous months. Such a large difference suggests that there is a connection between the buying of gold and the recent developments regarding the possible secession of Scotland.

Bullionvault does not yet have figures on a possible increase in the customer base within Scotland, but the figures clearly show that existing customers have been buying more precious metals in recent weeks.

More demand for gold

Bullionvault's findings are corroborated by an increase in activity at the gold trader CoinInvest. They recorded a "significant increase" in the sale of precious metals following the referendum to be held on September 18.

The secession of Scotland could have major consequences for both Scotland and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom, in particular, has an interest in the country remaining united, because there is a lot of oil in the ground on the territory of Scotland. Scotland can sell this oil itself, making the trade deficit of a slimmed-down United Kingdom even greater than it already is. As a result, the value of the British pound may fall further.

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