Live gold price (XAU/USD)

What the spot number is

The spot gold price is the current wholesale price for immediate delivery of one troy ounce of gold, quoted in US dollars. It is set by continuous trading among large banks, refiners and institutional traders in the over-the-counter market, with the most active price discovery happening in London and New York. The number you see on this page is a live reference price near 4275.0 for XAU/USD.

Because gold is a global market, the spot price changes 24 hours a day from Monday morning in Sydney to Saturday morning in New York. It reacts to every US dollar move, real yield shift and geopolitical headline, often within seconds. The price you see here updates throughout the trading day and is the same reference price used by the calculators on this site.

Why your broker’s price differs

Your broker does not quote you the exact spot price; it adds a spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price. The spread is how the broker earns revenue on each trade, and it widens when liquidity is thin or volatility spikes. This means your entry price is slightly worse than the mid-price you see on a free chart.

The spread on gold varies by broker, account type and time of day. It is not a fixed number, so you should check the live spread inside your trading platform before you place an order. The calculators here use the spot price you enter, but you should add the spread to your expected cost when planning a trade.

How to read the change and refresh

The price change shows how much gold has moved since the previous close, usually displayed in dollars and as a percentage. A positive change means gold is more expensive in US dollars, which often happens when the dollar weakens or risk appetite falls. The refresh rate on this page is frequent during active hours, but the exact interval depends on your internet connection and data provider.

When you see a sudden jump in price, check the time: major US economic data, Federal Reserve statements and geopolitical events can move gold by many dollars in a minute. Because gold is quoted in US dollars, Australian traders must also watch the AUD/USD exchange rate — a falling Australian dollar increases the A$ value of any US-dollar profit.

How this price feeds the calculators

The live price on this page is the same reference price used by the position size, pip value, margin, profit/loss and pivot point calculators. If you are calculating a trade, you can use the current price or enter your expected entry price manually. The calculators do not include the spread, so you should add that separately to your risk plan.

Because gold trades in US dollars, all calculator outputs are in US dollars unless you choose to convert them. The AUD value of any profit or loss depends on the exchange rate at the time you close the trade, not when you open it. This currency risk is part of trading gold from Australia.

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

The price shown here is a reference mid-price for gold (XAU/USD), derived from an aggregated feed of major interbank dealers and electronic liquidity providers. Ballarat Desk does not act as a market maker; the displayed figure is a composite calculated from institutional quotes, with a reference level around 4275.0. Because gold trades globally for nearly 24 hours on weekdays, this number updates only when markets are open, and it will pause during the daily maintenance break typically between 5:00 and 6:00 am New York time, which is evening in Australia.

Latency is the delay between a price change at the source and its appearance on this page. In normal conditions it is sub-second, but during high volatility or low liquidity periods such as around major economic releases or the Sydney open, the delay can stretch to several seconds. The displayed price is indicative, not executable: your broker’s platform receives its own stream from liquidity providers and may apply additional processing, so the number you see here should never be used as the exact level at which you can buy or sell.

What you can control is how you respond to that delay. Treat the live price as a decision aid for direction and approximate entry zones, not as a trigger for instant market orders without checking your platform. Before placing a trade, refresh the page and compare it with the bid and ask quotes on MT4, MT5, or cTrader. If you need precise entry on a fast move, use limit orders based on your broker’s actual feed, not this reference.

Why a broker's quote differs from a reference price

A broker’s quote differs from this reference price because the broker adds a spread and may also build in a small markup or commission, depending on account type. The reference price is a mid-point; your broker shows a bid (where you sell) and an ask (where you buy) that sit below and above that mid. The gap is the broker’s compensation for taking the other side of your trade and managing risk. Spreads on gold vary with liquidity and volatility, so the difference is not a fixed number but changes second by second.

Execution model also matters. FxPro operates as an agency-style broker, routing orders to multiple liquidity providers. Each provider quotes slightly different prices, and the broker aggregates these to give you the best available bid and ask at that moment. This aggregated feed can diverge from any single reference source, especially in fast markets. Additionally, the entity serving Australia, FxPro UK Limited, is regulated by the FCA and CySEC, not ASIC, so pricing and execution policies follow UK and Cypriot frameworks.

The price you see on this page is for orientation only. When you open a trade, the actual fill price comes from your broker’s platform at that instant. It will almost never equal the reference figure because of the spread, and it may differ further if the market moves between your click and execution (slippage). Before funding or trading, check the live bid and ask on your platform and understand that no reference page can promise you a trade at its displayed number.

Bid, ask and the gap between them

The bid is the highest price a buyer is willing to pay for gold at that moment, and the ask is the lowest price a seller will accept. If you want to sell immediately, you receive the bid; if you want to buy, you pay the ask. The difference between them is the spread, and it is the immediate cost of entering and exiting a position. On a platform like MT4 or cTrader, the spread appears as two prices side by side, and it widens or narrows with market conditions.

The spread on gold is variable, not fixed, and it depends on liquidity, volatility, and the broker’s pricing policy. During active London and New York sessions, it tends to be narrower because more participants are quoting. Around major news events or during thin Asian hours, it can widen sharply. There is no single number to state here because it changes constantly; you must read it from your trading platform before each order. A wider spread means you need a larger price move in your favour just to break even.

For a 0.10-lot gold position, the pip value is A$0.10 per 0.01 price movement, so a spread of even a few cents in the gold price translates directly into a cost in Australian dollars. For example, if the spread is 0.30 (30 pips), you start A$3.00 in the red on a 0.10-lot trade. That is why checking the spread before entry is a core discipline: it tells you exactly how far the market must move before your trade is profitable.

What a stale quote looks like and what to do about it

A stale quote is a price that has not updated for an unusually long time while the market is open, or a price that no longer reflects the current trading conditions. On this page, you can spot it by comparing the timestamp with the current time; if the feed is frozen while other sources are moving, the quote is stale. On your broker’s platform, a stale quote often appears as a bid and ask that remain identical for many seconds during active trading, or as a sudden widening of the spread with no corresponding news.

Stale quotes matter because they can lead to poor execution. If you place a market order based on an outdated price, you may be filled at a significantly different level, especially in fast markets. Slippage of a few cents on gold is common during news; relying on a frozen screen can turn that into a much larger loss. The fix is simple: before every order, refresh the page and check the live bid and ask on your trading platform. If the prices do not match within reason, wait for a fresh quote.

If you suspect your broker’s feed is stale, do not trade against it. Instead, close and reopen the platform, check your internet connection, or switch to a different device. You can also compare with an independent source to confirm whether the market is moving. For Australian traders using PayID or bank transfer to fund an account, a delay in funding does not affect quote freshness, but a slow platform feed can. Always ensure your trading platform shows a current, tradable price before committing capital.

Why the live XAU/USD price on this page is a reference, not your broker’s quote

The number on this page is a consolidated reference price for XAU/USD, based on a current market value near $4,275.0 per ounce. It aggregates data from multiple liquidity sources to show the broad spot market, but it is not a live executable quote. The latency is typically a few seconds, which is fine for watching the market but not for entering a trade. Before you place an order, always check the price inside your broker’s platform—that is the number you can actually trade on.

A reference price is designed to give you a clean, mid-market snapshot without bid and ask. Your broker’s quote, however, includes a spread and reflects the specific liquidity available to that broker at that moment. This means the price you see on this page will almost never match your broker’s buy or sell price exactly. The difference is not an error; it is the normal cost of trading. If you need precision, use the platform price, not this page, for your entry and exit decisions.

Latency on this page can vary with your internet connection and the data feed. If the number has not moved for a minute or two while the market is active, treat it as stale. A stale reference price can mislead you about current market conditions, so do not base a trade on it. For gold, even a 10-cent move in XAU/USD is $10 per lot, so a delayed price can mean a meaningful difference. Always refresh or cross-check with your broker before acting.

Bid, ask and the gap between them in gold trading

The bid is the price at which you can sell XAU/USD, and the ask is the price at which you can buy it. The gap between them is the spread, and it is the first cost you pay on every trade. This page shows a single mid-price, so you will not see the spread here. In your broker’s platform, the spread for gold is typically a few cents per ounce, but it changes with market volatility and liquidity. That means the exact cost of a trade depends on when you enter it, not on the reference price you see here.

For a standard lot of 100 ounces, a spread of 10 cents equals $10 in cost. A wider spread means you start further from breakeven, so the gap between bid and ask is not a detail to ignore. If the market is moving fast, spreads can widen quickly, adding to your cost. Before you place an order, check the spread in your platform and calculate what it means for your position size. This is especially important for gold, where even small changes in the spread can affect your bottom line.

A stale quote often shows a bid and ask that have not changed for several seconds while the market is clearly moving. You can spot this by comparing the platform price with this page or another live chart. If the gap between bid and ask looks unusually wide or the price is frozen, do not trade on that quote. Refresh your platform, wait for the feed to catch up, or contact your broker. Trading on a stale quote can lead to slippage, where your order fills at a worse price than you expected, so always confirm the price is current before you act.