It’s almost like Kim Jong-un enjoys ruining people’s weekends. Last week just to make the come down from the Bank Holiday that little bit harder he decided to go full scale thug life and casually set off a missile over Japan; because that’s just ok, standard world leader practise and not terrifying at all. This week he’s spent another weekend un-characteristically scaring the world even more from further bomb tests and South Korea reckon further missile launches are imminent. The US has made threats and here we are again, markets head lower from the geo-political tensions. Of course as risk-off ensued today safe haven trades outperformed, so your precious metal prices, miners and safe haven currencies.

On the subject of currency, pressure on the pound mounted as Brexit negotiations, or lack of prompted more uncertainty over our economic future. As a result, economists now believe interest rates won’t rise until at least 2019, waiting until after the 2 year negotiation period is completed. Despite relative economic strength and inflation sitting above the 2% target it is though a hike before Brexit T&C’s are formalised would be too risky.

Without any material changes as the day progressed, equity markets broadly closed lower although investors took the news of North Korea’s latest flirt with nuclear weapons a little better, the FTSE eventually closing 0.36% lower. Wall St. remains closed for Labor Day. Gold and silver are the winners though, currently up 1% and 1.46% respectively.