Gold futures (GC=F) opened at $4,103.20 an ounce on Monday, down 0.4% from Friday’s close of $4,118.40. This is the first drop from the previous day’s closing number that we have seen since the summer.
Gold’s slide continues a week after gold hit record highs, as many experts believe gold has been overbought in recent months and as President Trump tours Asia, in part to help ease trade tensions with China.
With an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting this week, with market watchers anticipating another cut in the federal funds rate, it will be interesting to see what happens to the price of gold, as easing tensions with China should reduce safe-haven demand for gold; However, the price of gold tends to benefit when interest rates fall, since gold does not pay interest.
The opening price of gold futures on Monday is down 0.4% from Friday’s close of $4,118.40 per ounce. Monday’s opening price is down 5.5% from the opening price of $4,344.10 a week ago on October 20. Last month, the price of gold futures rose 9.6% compared to the opening price of $3,742.80 on September 25. Over the past year, gold has risen 50.5% from the opening price of $2,725.50 on October 25, 2024.
24/7 Gold Price Tracking: Don’t forget that you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Do you want to learn more about The current best performing companies in the gold industry.? Explore a list of the best performing companies in the gold industry using Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own evaluators with more than 150 different evaluation criteria.
More information: Gold vs. Cryptocurrencies: Which Should Investors Own in Downgrade Trading?
The price of gold can be quoted in multiple ways because the precious metal is traded in different ways. The two main gold prices that investors should be aware of are spot prices and gold futures prices.
More information: How to invest in gold in 4 steps
The gold spot price is the current market price per ounce of physical gold as a commodity, sometimes called spot gold. Gold ETFs that are backed by physical gold assets generally track the spot price of gold.
The spot price is lower than what you would pay to buy gold coins, bars, or jewelry, as your total price will include a margin called the gold premium that covers refining, marketing, dealer overhead, and profit. The spot price is more like a wholesale price, and the spot price plus the gold premium is the retail price.
Gold futures are contracts that call for a transaction in gold at a specific price on a future date. These contracts are traded on the exchange and are more liquid than physical gold. They are settled on or before the contract expiration date, either financially or by delivery. A cash settlement involves paying the contract profit or loss in cash. Delivery means that the seller sends physical gold to the buyer for the contracted price.
Supply and demand determine gold spot prices and gold futures prices. Factors that influence the supply and demand of gold include:
-
Geopolitical events
-
Central bank purchasing trends
-
Inflation
-
Interest rates
-
Mining production
More information: Who decides how much gold is worth? How prices are determined.
Whether you are following the price of gold from last month or last year, the gold price chart below shows the constant rise in value of the precious metal.