Gold Spot Price

What is gold spot price?

The spot price of gold is the most common standard used to gauge the going rate for a troy ounce of gold. The price is driven by speculation in the markets, currency values, current events, and many other factors. Gold spot price is used as the basis for most bullion dealers to determine the exact price to charge for a specific coin or bar. These prices are calculated in troy ounces and change every couple of seconds during market hours.

Gold as an investment

Gold is available for investment in the form of bullion and paper certificates. Physical gold bullion is produced by many private and government mints both in the USA and worldwide. This option is most commonly found in a bar, coin, and round form, with a vast amount of sizes available for each.

Gold bars can range anywhere in size from one gram up to 400 ounces, while most coins are found in one ounce and fractional sizes. Like other precious metals, physical gold is regarded by some as a good way to protect themselves against the ongoing devaluation of fiat currencies and from volatile stock markets.

Buying gold certificates is another way to invest in the metal. A gold certificate is basically a piece of paper stating that you own a specified amount of gold stored at an off-site location. This is different from owning bullion unencumbered and outright because you are never actually taking physical ownership of the gold. While some investors enjoy the ease of buying paper gold, some prefer to see and hold their precious metals first-hand.

Frequently Asked Questions

When you see the price of gold posted somewhere, such as on a website or a dealer’s page, it will usually be quoted as the spot gold price per troy ounce in U.S. dollars (USD). One can, however, get the price of gold per gram or kilo, as well.

The spot price of gold — or any commodity for that matter — represents the price at which the commodity may be exchanged and delivered upon now. This is in contrast to gold or commodity futures contracts, which specify a price for the commodity for future delivery date.

Gold is a commodity that is traded all over the world, and as such, it trades across many different exchanges, such as Chicago, New York, Zurich, Hong Kong, and London. The COMEX, formerly part of the New York Mercantile Exchange and now part of the CME Group in Chicago, is the key exchange for determining the spot gold price. The spot gold price is calculated using data from the front-month futures contract traded on the COMEX. If the front-month contract has little to no volume, then the next delivery month with the most volume will be utilized.

Our up-to-the-minute spot price feed is compiled from the collective data of various reliable sources to ensure our spot prices are always as accurate and current as possible. This gives you the best opportunity to buy gold near spot price when using Wall Street Metals.

Bid prices represent the current maximum offer to buy in the market, and Ask prices represent the current minimum offer to sell in the market. If you are a buyer, you will pay the Ask price, and if you are a seller, you will receive the Bid price. The difference between the two prices is the bid-ask spread, and the tighter the spread, the more liquid the product.

The gold spot price is the prevailing price for an ounce of .999 fine gold that is deliverable right now. The spot price does not take into account dealer or distributor markups or markups by the minting or manufacturing company. Most of our inventory is purchased directly from the mint; those products are priced at the spot price plus a markup for the mint or maker to turn a profit.

The dealer then also has to make a profit in order to stay in business. The dealer will take their purchase price, then markup the products further to cover dealer costs and a profit margin. This is why dealers will typically buy from individuals at or below the spot gold price and they will sell above the spot gold price. The spread between their buy and sell prices represents the dealer’s gross profit. This means that while you can’t get gold at spot price, you can buy gold near spot price with Wall Street Metals.

Spot gold prices are quoted as the price of 1 troy ounce of .999 percent fine gold deliverable now. This means you can usually purchase one ounce of gold bullion for right around this price plus the dealer’s premium.

Gold is traded in U.S. dollars (USD) and is therefore quoted in USD. In areas outside of the U.S., the spot gold price is taken in USD and simply converted to local currency.

The price for an ounce of gold is the same all over the globe; otherwise, an arbitrage opportunity would exist. The world spot gold price is simply converted into local currencies to give market participants the price for 1 troy ounce of .999 fine gold in their respective local currency.

There are several gold bullion coins that have a face value. That is to say that they are considered good, legal tender in their respective country and could be used to make purchases just like cash. The fact is, however, that these coins are not often used to make purchases. They are worth more for their gold content than their face value.

Have you ever seen someone pay for items at the grocery store with a $20 Saint-Gaudens gold coin? Probably not. These coins and others that carry a legal tender status derive their value primarily from their bullion content and collectability or scarcity in the market.

Yes and no. Dealers may charge a fixed profit markup on certain products and they may have varying charges on other products. A simple gold bar, for example, maybe sold by a dealer for $20 over the spot gold price, while a graded Double Eagle coin may sell for a premium at the dealer’s discretion based on condition, scarcity, and other market factors.

Gold spot prices change every few seconds during market hours and can fluctuate throughout the course of a day based on breaking news, supply and demand, and other macroeconomic factors. The gold spot price is determined by a variety of domestic and foreign exchanges, allowing the gold spot price to consistently update from 6 PM EST to 5:15 PM EST, Sunday to Friday (markets close from 5:15 PM to 6 PM EST each weekday). The changes in gold prices are due to supply/demand, as well as order flow and other factors.

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Joe Pannu here.  My team and I have decades of experience in the Precious Metals market.  It is our passion.

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