Recent trouble in Kenya and Pakistan has reminded investors how unstable the emerging markets can be, thisismoney website has reported.

On the first day of trading since the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s stock market plummeted while oil prices were driven up, says the report.

Figures show oil prices in Chicago reached $100 a barrel (£51) and gold peaked at $860 an ounce (£439).

Graham Birch, head of BlackRock’s natural resources team and manager of the Gold and General fund, says: “On the supply side, production from the worlds’ gold mines continued to decline and we believe it would take a significant further rise in the gold price to reverse this particular trend.”

In related news, the US dollar is close to record lows, both against the euro and on a broad basis, reports the Financial Times.

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