Gold hits fresh record high; Fitch downgrades Thames Water parent company – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as gold rises almost 1% today to $2,365 per ounce

• UK retailers given hope of green shoots of recovery' after Easter pickup

Mexican precious metals mining company Fresnillo is benefitting from the rally in gold and silver.

Fresnillo is leading the risers on the UK's FTSE 100 share index this morning, up 4.4%, to its highest level since the start of January.

Iran's explicit threat of military retaliation following Israel's targeting of its Syrian embassy has escalated tensions, amplifying the spectre of a broader regional conflict with potentially unforeseeable repercussions.

Concurrently, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine exacerbates investor anxieties.