How the gold spot price works
The spot price is what one troy ounce of gold costs for immediate delivery in the wholesale market. Right now that's $4,027.88. Here's where the number comes from and why the price you pay is almost never exactly that.
Two markets make the price
Most gold trading happens in two places. London is the center of the physical market, where banks trade 400-ounce bars over the counter, meaning directly with each other instead of on an exchange. New York's COMEX exchange lists gold futures, contracts to buy or sell 100 ounces at a set price on a future date.
The spot prices on websites and apps usually come from the most active COMEX futures contract, adjusted to an immediate-delivery price, blended with quotes from London dealers. That's why two sites can show prices a dollar or two apart at the same moment.
The LBMA benchmark
Twice each London business day, at 10:30 and 15:00 UK time, ICE Benchmark Administration runs an electronic auction for the LBMA Gold Price. Banks enter buy and sell orders in rounds until the two sides roughly match, and the result is published as the benchmark. It replaced the older London Gold Fix in March 2015.
Silver gets one auction a day, at noon London time. Platinum and palladium get two, at 09:45 and 14:00.
Bid, ask and premiums
Every quote has two sides. The bid is what dealers will pay you. The ask is what they'll charge you. Spot sits between them.
Retail products add another layer. A one-ounce gold coin might sell for a few percent over spot, while fractional coins cost more per ounce because minting a tenth-ounce coin takes nearly as much work as a full ounce. When you sell, a buyer pays spot minus their margin. Jewelry usually sells for well below its gold value because it has to be melted and refined.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sunday 6:00 pm ET | CME Globex reopens and Asian buyers set the early tone |
| 10:30 London | LBMA Gold Price morning auction |
| New York morning | US economic data and the London overlap bring the heaviest trading of the day |
| 15:00 London | LBMA Gold Price afternoon auction, the benchmark most contracts use |
| 5:00 pm ET | Daily one-hour pause on CME Globex before the next session |
Gold trades nearly 23 hours a day from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, US Eastern time. The price you see at 2 a.m. is real, set by buyers and sellers in Asia and Europe.
Common questions
- Who sets the price of gold?
- Nobody sets it alone. Buyers and sellers on COMEX futures and in the London over-the-counter market move it trade by trade. The LBMA Gold Price auction, run by ICE Benchmark Administration, fixes a reference price twice a day.
- Why can't I buy gold at the spot price?
- Spot covers large bars traded between banks and dealers. A coin or small bar costs more to make, ship, insure and sell, so retail buyers pay a premium over spot. Small coins usually carry higher premiums than large bars.
- Does gold trade on weekends?
- Not in any real volume. The futures market closes Friday afternoon and reopens Sunday evening US time, so weekend price pages show Friday's last price.