In the fourth quarter, Chinese investors ramped up demand for gold as a means of hedging against movements in the renminbi. This led to outflows of the metal.

The Chinese market uses gold bars in a different size to the ones that are held in London so they import via Switzerland where the bars are recast, said Oliver Harvey, a foreign exchange analyst with Deutsche Bank. In the final three months of 2016, UK goods exports to Switzerland increased by 282 per cent to their highest level ever.