One ounce, priced in dollars
XAUUSD is a currency-style quote: how many US dollars buy one troy ounce (31.1 grams) of gold. At a quote of 4,430, one ounce costs $4,430. When the number rises, gold strengthened against the dollar — or the dollar weakened against gold; the quote cannot tell those apart, which is why serious traders watch the dollar index alongside gold.
Where the price is made
The core is the London OTC spot market, where bullion banks trade metal for settlement two days out — this is the "spot price". Around it: COMEX futures in New York, where most speculative volume lives, and Asian markets like Shanghai. Arbitrage keeps all these venues within cents of each other; your broker's XAUUSD feed is an aggregate of bank quotes anchored to that complex.
That is why two platforms can show slightly different prices at the same second — different liquidity providers, same underlying market. Differences of tens of cents are normal; differences of dollars mean someone's feed is broken.
Spot, futures and CFDs: what you actually trade
Retail traders almost never touch the metal. You trade a CFD or margin contract tracking spot, or a futures contract on COMEX. The retail CFD follows spot tick-for-tick, charges a small overnight financing fee, and lets you trade fractions of an ounce — practical for exact risk sizing. Futures are the institutional arena: standard contracts, an expiry calendar, deep order-book data.
For learning price action the distinction barely matters: structure, levels and liquidity behave identically. It matters for costs on trades held weeks — financing adds up.
Why it moves: the short version
Gold pays no interest. So its price is, at heart, a referendum on the alternatives: when real yields on bonds fall, holding gold costs less and it rallies; when the dollar strengthens, gold priced in dollars faces a headwind; when fear spikes, the metal catches safe-haven flows regardless. Central banks buying reserves add a slow, steady bid underneath.
Each driver has its own guide: interest rates, inflation, and the full bull-case anatomy.
Watching it properly
The quote alone is a number; context makes it information. A free XAUUSD live chart shows the price with structure, support/resistance and volume tools attached, on any timeframe from 1 min to monthly — which is how the professionals consume the same feed. Watch one London open with a chart instead of a ticker and the difference is obvious.
FAQ
Who decides the gold price?
No one entity. The price emerges from continuous trading between banks, funds and dealers across London OTC spot, COMEX futures and Asian venues, kept in line by arbitrage. The LBMA auction price is a twice-daily benchmark, not the live price.
Why does gold trade at night?
Because the market follows the sun: Asia hands to London, London to New York, with only a short daily maintenance gap. The metal itself never closes; only the weekend halts trading.
Why is my broker's gold price slightly different from Google's?
Different aggregation feeds and update speeds. Sub-dollar differences are normal microstructure; the market is the same underneath. Nothing here is financial advice.
ⓘ See these ideas on real price: open the free XAUUSD live chart.