Price of Gold

Gold Spot Price

The gold spot price is the set price of gold for a particular time and date and is used for the trading of gold. The price is referred to when buying or selling gold or any gold related items such as ETFs in order to get a standard rate with which the metal can be traded. The process is usually done with different banks and other corporations involved in the trading of gold participating in the setting and setting a price at two specific periods of the day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The set price is used for the trading of gold at least about two days before the actual buying or selling of the gold commodity. The gold spot price helps traders around the world agree on what should be the trading price of gold for a particular period. It helps provide a veritable standard on how the commodity should be valued for a given period which anyone, anywhere in the world can use for their trading purposes.

There are a variety of factors which affect the price of gold for the day. Of course there is the supply and demand factor but there are also other factors. The spot price is usually used for transactions that call for immediate physical delivery of gold and not for other types of contracts such as those that are involved in gold futures contracts. They use a different method of coming into the actual value of gold for a specific future date and which adds more factors into play such as gains and other interests that may affect the future interests of the buyer or seller. There is also the expectations of the future performance of gold in the future which will determine the value for gold at that particular date.

The spot price is affected by the supply and demand for the metal such as the worldwide hoarding of the gold due to their ever-increasing value and also as a security for any future economic condition which may diminish the value of their currency. Gold has always had a value with which it can purchase large commodities unlike the paper currencies which suffer whenever there are changes in economic conditions or wars and other factors.

The spot price of gold is expressed in either the United States dollar, the Euro or the British pound, in which it is usually settled. The fixing of the spot price for gold is usually done in London with various entities participating. They meet for an agreement on what the price of gold should be for that particular day and time depending on the performance of gold in the market at that time. Today, however, the process is usually done through the phone and does not need the physical meetings by these entities.

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The spot price of gold has risen greatly for the past few months only which can be a good signal for buyers or sellers to do their trade. Gold has not had this particular performance since the 90’s and will definitely be a good indicator for people to start trading this metal. You can view the historical statistics for gold and other precious metal commodities in the United States at this interesting precious metal commodity spreadsheet.

You can watch a video that explains what the spot price of gold means below:

Price of Gold Hit a New Record Today

Gold prices hit a new record today after data from the United States showed slower than anticipated economic growth. Costs for food and gasoline have risen, and consumer spending has slowed. The US debt and out-of-control spending, and borrowing has affected the U.S dollar which has continued to slump.

This comes on news from the Federal Reserve that low interest rates will remain a US policy for an extended period of time. Inflation in the United States has risen at its fastest rate in two and half years.

Precious metals have gained for 10 of the past 11 trading sessions. Investors continue to seek a safe haven for their money, due to rising inflationary pressures. The recent U.S jobless news revealed an unexpected jump further fueling gold’s momentum.

The price of Spot gold rose to an all-time high of $1538.35 an ounce today. The weaker dollar is widely seen as the culprit for rising gold prices. The recent macroeconomic report has fueled speculation that the US’s loose monetary policy will continue to be needed to boost the economy. Michael K. Smith, of T & K Futures and Options recently said, “Bernanke basically said, ‘hey, we are going to let the U.S. dollar just get crushed.”

Silver was also a big winner today, and its low price still makes it a prime candidate for investors. Widely viewed as a poor man’s gold, silver prices jumped to a new record today. Silver’s huge price swing role as 3.4%, as investors flocked to precious metals to capitalize on Silver’s much lower price than gold.

Price of Gold Rebounds

The price of gold rebounded today following Tuesday’s decline and the announcement from the Federal Reserve that they will keep their key interest rate at a historic low rate of low range of 0% to 0.25%. The Fed came to a unanimous decision to let its controversial $600 billion treasury bond purchasing run its course in order to keep short-term interest rates close to 0%. They gave no indication as to whether or not they would continue pumping large amounts of money into the financial system.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak today, and many hope he will address concerns about rising inflation fears associated with the decision, and the US debt. Ben Bernanke’s meeting with the media is set to begin at 2:15 PM Eastern. Many analysts don’t expect him to say anything but scripted remarks he has previously made in the past.

Gold investors continued this month’s purchasing spree on the news that the Federal Reserve will be slow to raise borrowing costs. Since this news is perceived to further weaken the dollar, many investors are turning to precious metals as a safe haven. The fact believes that by keeping the interest rates at a historic low it will help to stimulate the economy. However, this weakening of the dollar is proving beneficial to Gold rates. Keith Springer the president of Springer financial recently said, “All of this will move gold and silver higher as it will increase inflationary pressures and lower the dollar further.”

In other news Barrick Gold reported a 22% increase in their first-quarter profit. This news was in line with expectations. The company made a surprise bed of $7.65 billion bid for Equinox Minerals. The founder and chairman of Barrick Gold, ,Peter Munk recently announced to investors during an annual meeting that, ” notwithstanding the company’s bid for copper miner Equinox, Barrick remains firmly committed to being the world’s top gold miner.”

Price of Gold Increases Above $1500 An Ounce

The price of Gold raised above $1500 an ounce yesterday, and today continues to climb. $1500 an ounce gold was an all-time high milestone. Today major stock markets shot up in large part due to strong corporate earnings in Europe and the United States. Overall there was a prime commodities rally after the Dow reached a near three-year high.

However, weakness in the US dollar, and Greek debt defaults concerns with the Euro continue to dog the currency markets. Inflation and debt worries continue to push commodity prices upward. Currencies that benefit from higher commodities including the Australian, and Canadian dollar are performing well. Bullish investors of Gold call options have been very active this week.

According to analysts at Capital Economics we can expect to reach $1600 an ounce before the end of the year. Some experts anticipate gold will continue to climb and could even reach $2000 an ounce before 2012.

The main drivers of high gold prices lately are due to slower than anticipated economic growth in the US, Asia and Euro zone, as well as destabilizing events such as the earthquake in Japan and political unrest in the Middle East. Another factor played a part in the rise of Gold is the support for finding an alternative to the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

Jim Steel a precious metals analyst with HSBC recently said, “Any increase in non-US dollar assets would likely be indirectly supportive of gold, especially if it weakened the U.S. dollar’s status as a reserve currency.” Gold futures hit a record for the ninth time so far this month.

Another big winner this week was silver which rose above $45 an ounce for the first time since 1980. This is a 31 year high for silver. It has increased by almost 150% in the last year alone. Gold and silver prices often rise in times of economic upheaval and news of problems with the economy. With debt and inflation concerns being fueled by the S&P’s recent downgrade of the US debt outlook from stable to negative, it looks as if precious metals will continue to climb.

Gold Prices Climbed Today

Gold prices climbed again today almost hitting a record intra-day high of $1,478 an ounce. As the precious metal inched closer to $1500 an ounce many people are concerned on the news from the US government that consumer prices increased last month due in large part to higher food and gasoline costs. This marks the third straight day of higher prices for gold, silver, and other precious metals. Investors often purchased gold as they had against inflation and a weakening dollar. Spencer Patton, founder and chief investment officer for hedge fund Steel Vine Investments LLC. recently said, investors are “getting increasingly concerned about inflation.” If gold does reach its intra-day high of $1,478 an ounce soon you may see more technical traders getting back into the gold market. When that happens it will definitely fuel the push toward $1500 an ounce gold. Oil today topped $110 a barrel for a short time and silver prices reached a 31 year high.