About Gold
Gold is the classic store of value. Central banks hold it as a reserve asset, investors buy it as a hedge, and jewellery demand from India and China still absorbs a large share of annual mine supply. Because gold pays no interest, it competes directly with yield-bearing assets.
What moves the gold price
- Real interest rates: falling inflation-adjusted yields usually support gold, rising real yields weigh on it.
- The US dollar: gold is priced in dollars, so a weaker dollar tends to lift it.
- Central-bank buying and ETF flows, which can add or remove large blocks of demand.
- Geopolitical stress and financial-market shocks that trigger safe-haven buying.
- Physical demand from jewellery and bar-and-coin buyers, especially in Asia.
How the gold price is set
There is no single "gold price". Three markets interact all day. The London over-the-counter market is where banks and refiners trade large bars for spot settlement, and its LBMA Gold Price auction (run at 10:30 and 15:00 London time) is the reference many central banks, refiners and jewellers use in contracts. COMEX futures in New York give price discovery for future delivery and attract most speculative volume. Shanghai trades yuan-denominated gold, and the gap between Shanghai and London prices is a useful read on Chinese demand: a large premium usually means local buyers are keen.
The XAU/USD quote you see on this page is a spot reference. A futures contract normally trades a little above spot because of carry (interest cost minus nothing, since gold pays no yield), so do not be surprised if your broker's December contract shows a higher number than the spot chart.
Reading the drivers in practice
The most reliable long-run relationship is with real yields: the return on inflation-protected government bonds. When that return falls, the opportunity cost of holding a metal that pays nothing also falls, and gold tends to benefit. The link is not mechanical. In several recent years strong central-bank purchases kept gold rising even while real yields climbed, a reminder that demand from official buyers can overwhelm the usual macro signal.
Watch the US dollar index as a second filter, and the weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders report to see whether speculative funds are already heavily long. Crowded positioning often leads to sharp, short-lived drops when a surprise hits, such as a hotter-than-expected inflation or jobs report.
Seasonality
Physical demand has a loose calendar. Buying in India rises ahead of the autumn festival and wedding season (Dussehra, Diwali and Dhanteras usually fall between September and November) and around Akshaya Tritiya in spring. Chinese demand traditionally peaks in the weeks before Lunar New Year. Northern-hemisphere summer is often quieter for both jewellery buying and trading volume. These patterns are tendencies, not rules: macro shocks and central-bank flows regularly override them, so treat seasonality as background context rather than a trading signal.
Gold compared with other markets
Gold usually moves with silver, but silver swings harder because industry uses so much of it. The ratio between the two is a popular relative-value gauge, explained in our gold-to-silver ratio guide. Some investors also compare gold with Bitcoin as an alternative store of value, but the two have behaved very differently in risk-off episodes, so the comparison is looser than headlines suggest.
Contract specifications
| Benchmark future | COMEX Gold (GC), CME Group |
|---|---|
| Contract size | 100 troy ounces |
| Price quote | US dollars and cents per troy ounce |
| Minimum tick | $0.10 per ounce = $10 per contract |
| Most active months | February, April, June, August, October, December |
| Settlement | Physical delivery of 100 oz (or three 1 kg) bars |
| Smaller contracts | Micro Gold (MGC) 10 oz; 1-Ounce Gold (1OZ) |
| Spot reference | XAU/USD and the twice-daily LBMA Gold Price in London |
Specifications as published by the exchange; they can change, so confirm on the exchange website before trading.
Trading hours
Spot gold (XAU/USD) trades over the counter about 24 hours a day, five days a week, with London and New York as the busiest sessions. CME Globex trades almost around the clock: Sunday to Friday, 6:00 pm to 5:00 pm US Eastern Time, with a one-hour daily break.
Contract basics
The benchmark future is COMEX Gold (GC): 100 troy ounces per contract, minimum tick $0.10 per ounce ($10 per contract). A Micro Gold contract (MGC) covers 10 ounces.
Quote unit
USD per troy ounce. Hours and specifications can change; always confirm on the exchange's website, especially around holidays.
Gold FAQ
What moves the price of gold?
Real interest rates: falling inflation-adjusted yields usually support gold, rising real yields weigh on it. The US dollar: gold is priced in dollars, so a weaker dollar tends to lift it. Central-bank buying and ETF flows, which can add or remove large blocks of demand. Geopolitical stress and financial-market shocks that trigger safe-haven buying. Physical demand from jewellery and bar-and-coin buyers, especially in Asia.
When does gold trade?
Spot gold (XAU/USD) trades over the counter about 24 hours a day, five days a week, with London and New York as the busiest sessions. CME Globex trades almost around the clock: Sunday to Friday, 6:00 pm to 5:00 pm US Eastern Time, with a one-hour daily break.
What is the standard gold contract?
The benchmark future is COMEX Gold (GC): 100 troy ounces per contract, minimum tick $0.10 per ounce ($10 per contract). A Micro Gold contract (MGC) covers 10 ounces.
Why is the gold futures price different from spot?
A futures price includes the cost of financing and storing gold until the delivery date, so contracts further out are usually priced a little above spot. The gap narrows as expiry approaches.
What time of day is gold most active?
Liquidity is highest when London and New York overlap, roughly 8:00 am to noon US Eastern Time, and around major US data releases at 8:30 am ET.
Does gold always rise when stocks fall?
No. In sudden market crashes gold is sometimes sold alongside stocks as traders raise cash to cover losses elsewhere. Its safe-haven role tends to show over weeks rather than hours.
How many grams are in a troy ounce?
One troy ounce is about 31.1035 grams, slightly heavier than the everyday (avoirdupois) ounce of about 28.35 grams.