What sets the gold price

Gold has one global price, updated every second of the trading week. When people say "the gold price" they mean the spot price: what one troy ounce of pure gold costs for delivery now, in US dollars.

Where the price comes from

No single shop or government sets the price. It comes out of three big markets that between them trade almost around the clock:

• London, the largest market for physical gold, where banks trade bars with each other. Twice a day, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, an auction sets the LBMA Gold Price, a benchmark used in many contracts.
• New York, where gold futures trade on the COMEX exchange. A future is an agreement to buy or sell gold at a set price on a later date, and futures trading moves the spot price minute by minute.
• Shanghai, the biggest market in Asia, where the Shanghai Gold Exchange trades physical gold in yuan.

Together they make a market that runs from Sunday evening to Friday evening, New York time, with a one-hour break each day. That is why TGM shows "Market open" or "Market closed" next to the price.

Why the price is in dollars

Gold is priced in US dollars per troy ounce because the biggest markets and most large traders use dollars. Everyone else converts. So the gold price where you live depends on two things: the dollar price of gold, and your currency's exchange rate against the dollar. The course Gold, inflation and your currency looks at what that means for your savings.

What moves the price

No one can reliably predict the gold price, but a few forces matter most:

• Interest rates. Gold pays no interest. When safe interest rates are high, holding gold means giving up that income, which can weigh on the price. When rates fall, gold often looks more attractive.
• The US dollar. A stronger dollar tends to push the dollar price of gold down, and a weaker dollar tends to push it up.
• Fear and uncertainty. Wars, banking scares and recessions often send people towards gold.
• Central banks. Central banks bought more than 1,000 tonnes of gold a year in 2022, 2023 and 2024, according to the World Gold Council, around double their pace of the decade before.
• Jewellery and industry. India and China buy huge amounts of gold jewellery, and that demand rises and falls with prices, incomes and festivals.

Spot price versus the price you pay

The spot price is a wholesale price for large bars. When you buy a coin, a small bar or jewellery you pay more than spot, and when you sell you usually get a little less. That gap, the premium and the spread, is covered in Buying gold safely.