What is the gold spot price?

Every gold price you see, from a dealer's coin price to a pawn shop's offer for an old ring, starts from the spot price. Understanding it is the quickest way to tell a fair deal from a poor one.

What does "spot price" mean, explained simply?

"Spot" is market slang for "now". The spot price is what gold changes hands for, right now, between the large banks, refiners and dealers that make up the wholesale market. It is always quoted for one troy ounce of pure gold. A troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, about 10% heavier than the ordinary ounce used for food.

Three things follow from that definition:

• It is a price for pure metal. If your coin is 22 carat (91.67% gold), only the pure gold in it counts towards its spot value.
• It is a wholesale price. The Perth Mint explains that the over-the-counter market is "generally meant to refer to professional/corporate entities trading 400oz gold bars", usually for settlement in London. Private buyers of 1oz coins never pay that price.
• It moves constantly. CME Group describes its benchmark gold futures as having "nearly 24-hour electronic access" on weekdays, so the spot price can change every few seconds.

Who sets the gold spot price, and how?

No single organisation sets it. The price comes out of trading in three big markets. According to The Perth Mint, the London over-the-counter market, the COMEX futures market in New York and the Shanghai Gold Exchange together "account for more than 90% of global trading volumes".

• London over-the-counter (OTC) market. Banks and dealers trade directly with each other, by phone or on electronic platforms. Deal prices are private, so screens such as Reuters and Bloomberg show indicative quotes rather than firm prices.
• COMEX futures. A public, regulated exchange where people agree prices for gold delivered in future months. Many websites quote the nearest futures contract as "spot", which The Perth Mint calls "technically incorrect", though the two stay close because traders profit from any gap.
• The LBMA Gold Price. This is a separate daily benchmark, not a live price. It is set twice a day in auctions starting at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, run independently by ICE Benchmark Administration. It is published in US dollars, with sterling and euro versions that LBMA describes as indicative. Mints, refiners and central banks use it for contracts; the Royal Mint, for example, prices some buybacks as a percentage of it.

For a fuller explanation of what moves the price up and down, read how gold prices are set.

How does spot price turn into the price you pay? A worked example

Here are real prices from the GoldVetted price check, 10 October 2026. Spot was $4,195.60 per ounce in US dollars and £3,171.03 in pounds.

Single-item prices on dealers' product pages, cheapest payment method. Full results in our premium tracker.

The method is the same for any coin or bar:

1. Find the pure gold content

   A Sovereign weighs 7.98 grams but contains 7.3224 grams of pure gold, which is 0.23542 troy ounces.

2. Multiply by spot

   0.23542 × £3,171.03 = £746.52. This is the coin's "melt value".

3. Compare with the price

   £767.48 ÷ £746.52 = 1.028, so the coin cost 2.8% above spot. That 2.8% is the premium.

You can do the same sum in any currency with the calculator below, which loads the live spot price.

How does spot compare with other gold prices you will see?

Spot is also quoted per gram and per kilo. At $4,195.60 per ounce, a gram of pure gold was worth $134.89 and a kilo $134,892. In pounds, £3,171.03 per ounce worked out at £101.95 per gram.

What do people get wrong about the spot price?

• Expecting to buy at spot. Offers of coins "at spot" or below are a red flag. The US Mint advises "extra scrutiny" if anyone offers a bullion coin below the current market price.
• Forgetting purity. A 9 carat ring is only 37.5% gold, so its gold is worth 37.5% of the spot value of its weight, before any scrap discount.
• Mixing up ounces. Gold is priced in troy ounces of 31.1 grams, not the 28.35-gram ounce on kitchen scales.
• Comparing a weekend price with a weekday quote. Spot freezes at weekends, then can jump when trading resumes on Sunday evening (US time).
• Assuming the LBMA Gold Price is the live price. It is a snapshot from one of two daily auctions and can differ from spot later the same day.
• Ignoring exchange rates. If the pound or Australian dollar weakens against the US dollar, gold rises in that currency even when the dollar price is flat.

What does the spot price mean in the US, UK, Canada and Australia?

Gold trades globally in US dollars. Local prices are the dollar price converted at live exchange rates. On 10 October 2026, $4,195.60 and £3,171.03 implied an exchange rate of about $1.32 to the pound. Today's prices are shown live below.

Live spot prices, updated Loading. These are values for pure gold, not dealer prices.

Once you know the spot price, the next step is finding the dealer with the smallest premium. Our country guides compare where to buy gold in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia, and how to buy gold walks through the whole process.

Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.