Gold gaining amid dollar devaluation

The FTSE has had a slow start to the week, with early losses proving somewhat unspectacular. With the dollar continuing to decline, the focus is shifting to commodity prices where gold has jumped to a two-week high.

• FTSE flounders, as gold soars

• Insurers gains as premiums rise

• Dollar fall continues despite rising rates

A somewhat slow start to the week today has seen the FTSE in the red from the get-go, with investors focusing heavily on commodities, where gold hit a new two-week high today. Insurers are leading the way amongst the gainers, with premiums set to rise across the country in the wake of the governments ruling over pay-out calculations today. On the face of it this is bad news, making insurance product less affordable, yet after initial losses, it is clear traders are seeing this as a short term blip within a wider success story.

It is clear that markets are paying little attention to the direction of US rate hikes, choosing instead to focus on the fact that the rate rise projections remain unchanged at three for 2017. The devaluation of the dollar index, to one-month lows this morning, highlights a growing uncertainty that the fiscal stimulus promised by Donald Trump seems to have slipped off the agenda, with the President instead focusing more on the defence spending and cutting costs elsewhere.

Ahead of the open we expect the Dow Jones to open 19 points lower, at 20,896.