What Is Spot Price? How Gold and Silver Prices Are Set
"Spot price" is the most-used term in precious metals buying and selling, but it is often misunderstood. Spot price is the real-time market price per troy ounce for immediate delivery of a metal — not a price set by any single company or government, but the outcome of continuous global trading on commodity exchanges. Every gold and silver coin, round, and bar is priced in relation to spot. Understanding what spot is, how it is set, and how it moves is the foundation for any precious metals transaction.
Key takeaways
- Spot price is the current market price per troy ounce for immediate delivery of a precious metal — the real-time global benchmark.
- Gold and silver spot prices are determined primarily by trading on the COMEX (New York) exchange and the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
- All coin and bullion premiums are stated as amounts above (or below) spot — understanding spot is the foundation for any precious metals transaction.
- Spot prices change continuously during trading hours and are affected by inflation data, interest rates, currency movements, geopolitical events, and supply/demand.
- Coin dealers typically buy at spot minus a small discount and sell at spot plus a premium — the spread is how they operate profitably.
What Exactly Is Spot Price?
Spot price is the price at which one troy ounce of a precious metal (gold, silver, platinum, or palladium) can be bought or sold for immediate delivery in the professional wholesale market. It is a real-time, continuously updating price derived from futures trading — primarily on the COMEX (Commodity Exchange Inc.) division of the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and, for London pricing, the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association).
Spot price is a wholesale interbank and institutional price — it is not the price you pay at a retail coin dealer. When a dealer says a Silver Eagle is "$3 over spot," they mean $3 above whatever the current silver spot price is at the time of the transaction. The spot is the anchor; the premium is the retail markup on top.
How Is Spot Price Determined?
Gold and silver spot prices emerge from massive daily trading volume on commodity futures exchanges. The COMEX gold futures contract specifies the delivery of 100 troy oz of gold at a future date. When millions of these contracts are traded by banks, hedge funds, commodity traders, and producers, the price equilibrates around what market participants collectively believe the metal is worth right now.
The LBMA Gold Price is set twice daily in London — at 10:30 AM and 3:00 PM London time — through an electronic auction system among participating LBMA member banks. This auction process produces the globally recognized "London Fix" that serves as a reference price for many commercial contracts, mining company sales, and central bank transactions. Silver has a similar single daily LBMA fix.
What Moves the Spot Price?
Gold and silver are affected by different but overlapping factors. Gold is primarily a monetary metal and safe-haven asset. Its price tends to rise when: inflation expectations increase (gold preserves purchasing power), interest rates fall (gold's opportunity cost decreases), geopolitical uncertainty rises (investors seek safety), or the U.S. dollar weakens (gold is priced in dollars; a weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for non-dollar buyers, boosting demand).
Silver is both a monetary metal and an industrial commodity — roughly 50–60% of silver demand is industrial (solar panels, electronics, photography). Its price is therefore driven by both monetary factors (similar to gold) and industrial demand, especially growth in solar energy manufacturing. Silver is more volatile than gold because its market is smaller and its industrial use links it to economic cycles.
Spot Price vs. Coin Price: What Dealers Charge
No retail buyer pays exactly spot. Every coin, round, or bar carries a premium over spot — the retail markup that covers the dealer's costs, profit, and the minting premium they paid when acquiring the product. For silver bullion, premiums typically range from $1 to $6 per ounce over spot. For gold bullion, premiums are typically $30 to $150 per ounce over spot for common bullion coins.
Conversely, when you sell, dealers buy at spot minus a small discount (the bid discount), or at spot plus a smaller premium than they charge retail. The round-trip cost — buying at a premium and selling at a smaller premium or at spot — is the effective cost of holding bullion. Use our precious metals calculator to see the current spot price and calculate what your coins or bars are worth right now.
Bid vs. Ask vs. Spot: The Three Prices
In any active market there are three relevant prices: Spot (the professional interbank mid-market price), Ask (what a dealer charges to sell to you — spot plus premium), and Bid (what a dealer pays to buy from you — spot minus a small discount, or spot plus a smaller premium than ask for high-demand products). The gap between ask and bid is the dealer's spread.
Understanding all three numbers helps you evaluate any offer. If silver spot is $32.00, a dealer charging $35.50 per Silver Eagle (ask) and buying at $33.00 (bid) is working with a $2.50 spread — normal and reasonable. A dealer charging $40 and buying at $30 has a $10 spread — a sign to shop elsewhere.
How to Track Spot Price
Spot prices are updated in real time during trading hours (roughly 6 PM Sunday to 5 PM Friday New York time). Reliable free sources: Kitco.com (gold, silver, platinum, palladium charts), APMEX.com spot prices, Investing.com commodities, and our own precious metals calculator, which fetches live pricing.
Check spot immediately before any purchase or sale meeting. A 1% change in gold spot over 30 minutes changes the value of a double eagle by roughly $30 — meaningful on a single coin, very meaningful on a large lot. Dealers will quote based on spot at the time of the transaction; knowing the current spot ensures you can hold them to a fair quote.
Frequently asked questions
Is spot price the same as the price I pay for a Silver Eagle?+
No. You pay spot plus a premium (typically $3–$6 for Silver Eagles). Spot is the wholesale interbank price for immediate delivery in bulk; retail coin buyers always pay above spot due to minting costs, distribution, and dealer margins.
Does spot price change every day?+
It changes continuously during trading hours — by the second, in fact. Each day closes with a settlement price; the following day opens at a new level influenced by overnight trading in Asia and Europe. Gold and silver are traded globally around the clock on weekdays.
Why does gold go up when the dollar goes down?+
Gold is priced in U.S. dollars globally. When the dollar weakens relative to other currencies, gold becomes cheaper for non-dollar buyers, which increases demand and pushes the price up. The inverse is also true: a strong dollar tends to suppress gold prices.
What is the difference between COMEX and LBMA pricing?+
COMEX is the primary futures trading exchange where spot price emerges from continuous contract trading. The LBMA Gold Price is a twice-daily auction among member banks that produces the globally recognized "London Fix" — a standard reference point used in commercial contracts. Both are publicly available and closely track each other.
How can I use spot price to evaluate a dealer's offer?+
Know today's spot before any meeting. Calculate the melt value of your coins using our [precious metals calculator](/tools/precious-metals-value-calculator). For common bullion gold, expect offers of 97–100% of melt. For silver, expect 95–100% of melt. Any offer significantly below these benchmarks is below market — shop around.