Gold traded at £3,043.89 an ounce in the UK on Sunday 8 November, holding above the £3,000 mark after a volatile week in which the metal acted as the mirror image of collapsing oil prices.

Live price trackers put the spot price at £3,044.72 an ounce at midday on Sunday, equivalent to $4,069.83, down £12.07 or 0.39% from the previous session's close of £3,056.79. On a per-gram basis, 24-carat gold stood at £97.89, with 22-carat gold, the standard for most UK jewellery, at £89.67 a gram.

Retail buyers are paying less of a premium than they were a month ago. According to MetalsAlpha, which reads live prices from UK bullion dealers, the cheapest in-stock 100g gold bar on Sunday was £10,006.55 at Hatton Garden Metals, a premium of 2.3% over the spot price, below the 29-day average of 2.4%. The Royal Mint was charging £10,369.08 for the same bar. The gold inside a 100g bar was worth £9,786.35 at the spot price read at 13:00.

Sellers are getting close to spot too. The highest published buyback price for a 100g bar was £9,691.00 from Tavex, about 1% below the spot price.

Gold's firm tone follows a week in which it rose more than 3% on the day Brent crude crashed, as investors sought protection while the dollar and US Treasury yields fell after the Democrats' midterm sweep. Gold had already closed Friday at $4,074.90 an ounce. Dealers note that quoted prices are indicative spot equivalents: retail prices include dealer premiums and delivery, and the figures move with the live spot price through the day.