Live gold price

What the spot number is

The spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of gold in US dollars, quoted as XAU/USD and shown here at a reference around 4275.0. It is set by continuous trading across global venues, where bids and offers meet, and it moves whenever buyers and sellers reprice. It is a reference for planning, not a promise of the price your order will receive.

Because gold trades nearly around the clock on weekdays, the spot number is always the latest print rather than a daily fixing. South African readers should remember that the rand value of an ounce is this dollar number multiplied by USD/ZAR, so the local cost of gold moves even when the dollar chart is quiet.

Why your broker's price differs

Your broker's price differs from the spot reference because it includes the spread, the gap between the bid and the ask. You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, so the spread is the immediate cost of a round trip, and it is the main reason the number on your platform is not identical to a spot feed.

How wide that spread is depends on the broker's pricing model, the account type, the time of day and events in the calendar. This site does not quote a spread figure; instead, check the live bid and ask in your platform before you size a trade, and treat any widening as a change in your cost.

Reading the change and the refresh

The change figure shows how far the current price has moved from an earlier reference, and the refresh shows how recently the number updated. A quiet refresh during a thin session can mean fewer trades rather than a frozen market, so read the change together with the time and the session.

For a South African trader, the change matters most when it is expressed in rand terms as well as dollars. A dollar move and a rand move can offset or compound, so check both before you decide whether the move you see is the move you are actually exposed to.

How the price feeds the calculators

The reference price seeds the calculators so that pip value, margin and profit and loss start from a realistic gold level rather than a placeholder. You can overwrite it with your own entry or the price on your platform, and the tools recalculate from that input.

Keeping one price source across the tools means the position-size, margin and profit figures agree with each other. If you change the price in one calculator, change it in the others, or the comparison between risk and margin will drift.

Where the XAU/USD number on this page comes from and what its latency means

The number on this page is a reference spot price for XAU/USD, built from aggregated interbank and venue quotes rather than from your broker's order book. It is a snapshot of the market at the moment it was last pulled, not a live tradeable quote. Latency means the figure you see can be seconds behind the actual market, so treat it as a guide to where gold is trading rather than an executable price.

Latency matters most when gold is moving quickly, because a reference price that lags by even a short interval can show a level that no longer exists. Around major US data releases or sudden risk-off moves, the gap between the displayed reference and the current market can widen without warning. The reference is still useful for context and for feeding calculators, but it should never be assumed to be the price your order will receive.

For South African readers, the rand value of gold adds another layer: the XAU/USD reference is in dollars, and any ZAR conversion depends on the USD/ZAR rate at the time of execution, not at the time of the snapshot. If you are funding in rand via EFT or a local card, your broker converts at its own rate. Check the timestamp on any reference figure and compare it with your platform's live quote before acting.

Why a broker's XAU/USD quote differs from a reference price

A broker's quote differs from a reference price because it is built from that broker's own liquidity providers, order flow and risk management, not from a public composite. Two brokers can show different XAU/USD prices at the same second because they source liquidity differently and manage inventory differently. The reference price is a broad market indicator; the broker quote is the price at which you can actually trade with that specific firm.

The difference is not an error. It reflects the cost of doing business with that broker, including the spread it applies and any hedging or risk premium it builds into the quote. FxPro, for example, streams prices from its own liquidity mix across MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, so the number you see on its platform is the one that matters for your order. The reference on this page is there to give context, not to set your fill.

In South Africa, the entity that serves you is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL, and your account terms determine which pricing stream applies. Always compare the reference with the live quote in your platform before placing a trade, especially if you are working with a rand-denominated account where currency conversion also affects the final cost.

Bid, ask and the gap between them on a gold quote

The bid is the price at which you can sell, and the ask is the price at which you can buy; the gap between them is the spread. On XAU/USD, one pip is 0.01, so a spread quoted as a few cents is a few pips. The spread is not a fixed number you can rely on: it depends on the broker, the instrument, market conditions and the size of your order. It is the main visible cost of entering and exiting a trade.

Because gold is quoted in dollars per ounce, the spread on a standard lot (100 oz) translates directly into dollars: a one-pip spread costs $1 per standard lot. That cost is incurred the moment you open a position, before the market has moved at all. The spread you see on a platform is the broker's current offer, and it can widen during volatile periods or around news, which increases your immediate cost.

For South African traders, the spread is charged in the base currency of the instrument (USD), and any rand conversion happens separately. When you compare brokers, look at what the spread consists of and how it behaves in the conditions you trade, rather than assuming a particular number will hold. The gap between bid and ask is the most direct, recurring cost you face on every round trip.

What a stale XAU/USD quote looks like and how to handle it

A stale quote is one that has stopped updating while the market is still moving, so the price on your screen no longer reflects where gold is actually trading. It typically shows as a bid and ask that remain unchanged for an unusually long time, or a last-updated timestamp that is clearly behind the current time. On a live platform, a stale quote can also appear as a frozen spread that does not react to nearby market activity.

Stale quotes are dangerous because they invite you to trade at a level that is no longer available. If you place an order against a stale quote, the broker may reject it, requote it, or fill it at the current market price, which could be materially different from what you saw. Around fast markets or thin liquidity, the risk of encountering a stale quote rises, and the gap between the displayed price and the executable price can widen sharply.

The practical response is to check the timestamp and the bid-ask spread before acting, and to refresh your platform if either looks wrong. If you are trading through FxPro, use the live quote in MT4, MT5, cTrader or FxPro Edge as your reference, not a delayed figure from elsewhere. In South Africa, where funding and conversion add steps, always confirm the executable price immediately before you commit.

How often the figure refreshes and what a stale one looks like

The refresh rate of a reference price depends on the data source and the page you are viewing; there is no single universal interval. Some references update every few seconds, while others update less frequently or on demand. What matters is the timestamp attached to the number: if it is older than the interval you expect, treat the figure as indicative rather than current. A stale figure is one whose timestamp has not advanced while the market has.

A stale reference can look perfectly normal, because the number itself does not announce that it is old. The tell is the clock: if the last update was minutes ago during an active session, the price is likely behind. On this page, the reference is a snapshot, so it will always be somewhat behind a live broker feed. That is acceptable for context, but not for execution decisions.

For execution, rely on the live quote in your trading platform, which streams continuously during market hours. If you see a reference that has not moved while other sources show gold moving, assume it is stale and verify with your broker. In South Africa, where you may be trading outside typical London or New York hours, refresh behaviour can vary, so always check the timestamp before using any figure.

Spot reference versus the broker's tradeable XAU/USD quote

A spot reference is an indicative price for the gold market as a whole, while the broker's tradeable quote is the price at which you can actually buy or sell with that firm. The reference is useful for understanding direction and for calculators, but it is not an offer to trade. The broker quote includes the spread, the broker's liquidity and any risk adjustments, and it is the only price that will fill your order.

The difference between the two is not a small technicality: it is the difference between information and execution. You can watch a reference price all day, but your profit or loss is determined by the broker's bid and ask. FxPro's platforms (MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro Edge) show the tradeable quote, and that is what you should use for entries, exits and stop levels. The reference on this page is a context tool, not a trading price.

In South Africa, the distinction is sharpened by currency: your account may be in rand, but XAU/USD is priced in dollars, so the broker's quote and its conversion rate both affect your fill. Check which FxPro entity your account is with, because the tradeable quote comes from that entity. Use the reference to orient yourself, then switch to the live platform quote before you act.

Weekend and holiday pricing: why XAU/USD stops trading and what the quote does

XAU/USD does not trade over the weekend, so the number on this page freezes at the last Friday close until the market reopens on Monday. Gold trades on global OTC markets that shut from late Friday in New York until early Monday in Asia, and South African brokers follow that schedule. During that window there is no live bid or ask, and any figure you see is the final pre-weekend reference, not a price you can act on. If you hold a position, the gap between Friday's close and Monday's open is a real risk that no live page can show you.

Public holidays can also thin or close gold trading depending on which market is observing the holiday. US holidays such as Thanksgiving or Independence Day often shorten the New York session or close it entirely, while South African holidays may affect local broker support and funding but not the global XAU/USD market. The effect on the quote is that liquidity drops, the bid-ask gap can widen, and price can move in larger jumps on fewer trades. Check your broker's holiday calendar before relying on the live figure for entries or exits.

A frozen weekend quote is not a stale feed error; it is the correct last price for a closed market. The practical step is to treat any weekend XAU/USD number as informational only and not as an executable price. If you need to manage risk before the weekend, do it while the market is open, because stop and limit orders can be filled at the Monday open at a price different from Friday's close. The rand value of your position can also shift if the rand moves over the weekend even though gold itself is closed.

Why two sources disagree by a few cents and which one your order fills against

Two sources can show XAU/USD a few cents apart because they sample different liquidity pools at slightly different moments. A reference price might aggregate several venues on a timed snapshot, while your broker streams its own bid and ask from the venues it routes to. Even a sub-second timing difference matters in gold because the quote updates constantly during active hours. Neither number is wrong; they are just measuring different things, and the gap usually sits inside the normal bid-ask range rather than indicating an error.

Your order fills against your broker's tradeable quote, not against the reference price on this page. When you place a market order for XAU/USD, the execution engine matches it to the best available bid or ask on the broker's side, which already includes the spread and any markup. The reference figure is useful for context and for the calculators, but it is not a promise of execution. This is why a limit order set at a reference-price level may not trigger exactly when the reference touches that level.

To reconcile the two, compare your broker's bid and ask with the reference at the same moment and note the difference. If the gap is consistently wider than usual, it may reflect thinner liquidity or a wider spread during that session, not a faulty feed. For South African traders, the rand conversion adds another layer because your account may show P&L in ZAR while the underlying quote is in USD. Always judge fills by the price on your confirmation, and remember that FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa — check which entity your own account is opened with.

What the bid-ask gap does around the daily close

The bid-ask gap on XAU/USD typically widens around the daily close as liquidity providers reduce risk and step back from quoting. The daily close for gold is commonly tied to the New York session, and in the minutes around it you may see the ask lift further above the bid than during the active London-New York overlap. This is a normal function of thinner order flow, not a sign of a broken feed. The exact widening depends on the broker and the day's conditions, so treat it as something to expect rather than a fixed number.

A wider gap around the close matters most if you enter or exit near that time. A market order will cross a larger spread, so your fill can be further from the mid-price than it would be an hour earlier. Stop-loss orders can also be triggered by a brief widening even if the mid-price did not reach your level, because stops are usually executed at the bid for longs and the ask for shorts. If your strategy is sensitive to entry cost, avoid placing market orders in the minutes surrounding the daily close.

The gap usually narrows again once the new session establishes liquidity, but the timing varies with the global calendar. Around major holidays or month-end, the wider gap can persist longer. For South African traders, the daily close may fall in the evening local time, so it is worth checking how your broker displays session times. The practical approach is to watch the bid and ask separately on your platform rather than relying on a single mid-price figure, and to size positions with the possibility of a wider close-time spread in mind.