If investors are fleeing to gold this is not the time to be smug

It came as no great surprise that the UK economy contracted by 0.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a first quarter in which growth had been artificially boosted to 0.5 per cent by stockpiling ahead of the original 29 March Brexit deadline. It’s fair to claim, as our editorial did two weeks ago, that the UK has performed better than expected for the past three years — particularly in terms of job numbers, which rose again in April to June despite the growth setback. True also that we’re in no worse shape than our European neighbours, and that our flexible, if painful, exchange rate will help us cope with a downturn. But such consolations have to be set against global indicators, driven by tensions between the US and China and between Iran and the West, that suggest winter is coming for all of us. In that sense, this really isn’t the time for smugness or schadenfreude.