How much is gold per ounce?
Gold was trading at $2,625.18 per troy ounce as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s a +0.24% change since yesterday. The precious metal is up 27.05% since Jan. 1, 2024.
Over the last day, its highest trading price was $2,627.76, while its lowest was $2,604.18.
Current gold prices
The spot gold price is XAU/USD, representing its price in U.S. dollars. For this symbol, it’s gold (XAU) trading against the dollar (USD). Other markets, though, trade in different currencies. The best-known labels include XAU/EUR for trading euros and XAU/GBP for British pounds.
Spot gold prices are listed as the price for a troy ounce. Troy ounces are used for trading precious metals and are slightly heavier than a standard ounce. However, prices can also be quoted in grams or kilos, so pay attention to the units.
Price of gold chart
This chart shows how gold spot prices have changed over the last year. The data is updated at 9 a.m. ET and doesn’t have intraday lows or highs.
Year to date, gold is up 27.05% as of 9 a.m. ET. The 52-week intraday high reached $2,685.61 on Sept. 26, 2024, and the 52-week intraday low dropped to $1,852.65 on Oct. 10, 2023.
Investing in gold
Owning physical gold isn’t like having stocks in an online brokerage. You’ll need a location to store it and likely want to insure it.
The difference between buying and selling prices is known as the spread if you’re trading physical gold. It’s something to note because that spread can end up eating your returns. Dealers typically fold markups and transaction fees into the spread. So your purchase price can be higher than current market rates. Likewise, the money you get for a sale may be less than the current spot rate.
Some alternatives to physical gold offer better liquidity. Those may include gold exchange-traded funds, gold certificates and gold trusts. While they can be easier to manage, they have their own risks. For instance, these investments can have management fees and may not precisely track prices.
Spot prices are, therefore, a general benchmark for gold prices. In practice, actual returns for trading gold can vary depending on your method.
Precious metals spot prices
Precious metals have long served as investment vehicles and industrial commodities. Like gold, the spot prices of silver, platinum and palladium fluctuate based on various market, economic and geopolitical factors.
Price of silver
Silver is a traditional store of value but is also used in industry. Some investors might use it to hedge against a bad economy, but it has many applications. The electronics, health care, and automotive sectors all rely on silver, which makes its market dynamics distinct from gold in notable ways.
The price of silver opened at $30.70 per ounce, as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s up 0.58% from the previous day’s silver price per ounce and up 28.29% since the beginning of the year.
The lowest trading price within the last day: $30.22 per ounce. The highest silver spot price in the last 24 hours: $30.94 per ounce.
Price of platinum
Platinum is another precious metal much rarer than gold or silver. It’s primarily used in automotive catalytic converters that reduce emissions. With the push for cleaner cars, which don’t need autocatalysts, demand for platinum wavers.
The price of platinum opened at $959.70 per ounce, as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s up 1.10% from yesterday’s platinum price per ounce and down 2.84% year to date.
The lowest trading price within the last 24 hours: $949.10 per ounce. The highest platinum spot price in the last 24 hours: $964.35 per ounce.
Palladium spot prices
Another precious metal used in catalytic converters is palladium. The trend toward stricter emission standards may support demand. Combined with palladium’s scarcity, the metal can also have significant price fluctuations.
The price of palladium is $1,055.00 per ounce, as of 9 a.m. ET. That’s up 3.51% from yesterday’s palladium price per ounce and down 4.05% year to date.
The lowest trading price within the last 24 hours: $1,022.75 per ounce. The highest palladium spot price in the last 24 hours: $1,060.58 per ounce.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The highest price gold ever reached was $2,685.61 on Sept. 26, 2024.
Gold’s value tends to fluctuate based on economic, geopolitical and market factors, so the answer to this question depends on the period in which it is measured. It’s also difficult to pinpoint the direction of future price trends ahead of time.
From the beginning of the year to Oct. 10, 2024, the price of gold rose from $2,066.32 per troy ounce to $2,625.18, representing a 27.05% increase.
