内容摘要：Northumbria Police said it was working to establish if any criminal offences had been committed.

Northumbria Police said it was working to establish if any criminal offences had been committed.

But gold's recent strength is not wholly explained by the Trump factor.The price has been on a steep upward curve since late 2022, partly, according to Louise Street, because of central banks. "[They] have been net buyers of gold, to add to their official reserves, for the past 15 years," she explains. "But we saw that really accelerate in the past three years."

Central banks have collectively bought more than 1,000 tonnes of gold each year since 2022, up from an average of 481 tonnes a year between 2010 and 2021. Poland, Turkey, India, Azerbaijan and China were among the leading buyers last year.Analysts say central banks may themselves have been trying to build up buffers at a time of growing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.According to Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs: "In 2022 the reserves of the Russian Central Bank got frozen in the context of the invasion of Ukraine, and reserve managers of global central banks around the world realised, 'Maybe my reserves aren't safe either, what if I buy gold and hold it in my own vaults?'

"And so we have seen this big structural fivefold increase in demand for gold from central banks".Simon French, chief economist and head of research at investment firm Panmure Liberum also believes that independence from dollar-based banking systems has been a major driver for central banks. "I would look at China, but also Russia, their central bank is a big buyer of gold, also Turkey.

"There are a number of countries who fear weaponisation of the dollar system and potentially the Euro system," he says.

"If they are not aligning themselves with the US or the Western view, on diplomatic grounds, on military grounds… having an asset in their central bank that is not controlled by their military or political foes is quite an attractive feature."The mood in the capital Port Louis reflected this changing tide, as people gathered on Monday in anticipation of results that signalled a fresh direction for the country.

They were dancing and singing in the streets and blowing vuvuzelas. They also waved the country's flag and held fire crackers.Ibrahim, who voted for the Alliance for Change told the BBC that "growing public dissatisfaction" was a major reason the ruling party lost.

The cost-of-living crisis has been a major issue for many Mauritians, along with a growing concern about governance and corruption.On the campaign trail, both parties promised to improve the lives of people on the islands.