Gold firmed Tuesday as Treasury yields and the dollar eased, and our shop banner this afternoon shows gold near about $4,167 an ounce and silver near about $61. A quieter story this week helps explain that number: the company that runs the world's main gold price auctions just launched new gold futures in London.

So who sets the gold price you see on a ticker, and what does it have to do with a 1 oz coin in Tualatin? Here is a plain-English tour. Educational only, not investment advice.

London: where the big bars trade

London is the center of the wholesale gold market. According to Kitco News, daily over-the-counter gold trading there runs in the area of $190 billion. The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) reports that London vaults held 9,632 tonnes of gold at the end of August, valued at about $1.4 trillion, or roughly 770,000 bars.

Those are not coins. The LBMA's "Good Delivery" standard covers big bars of approximately 400 troy ounces for gold (1,000 ounces for silver), made by accredited refiners that meet strict rules on weight, purity, and appearance. At today's price, one bar is worth roughly $1.7 million. These trades happen "over the counter," directly between two parties rather than on an exchange.

At the Bank of England Museum in London, a large wholesale-size bar stamped 995.8 sits on display beside a 1-kilo bar and a small bar. That size gap tells the whole story.

The twice-a-day auction

The best-known gold benchmark is the LBMA Gold Price. It is set in electronic auctions run by ICE Benchmark Administration, part of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the company that owns the New York Stock Exchange. Here is how it works, according to ICE:

• Twice daily. Gold auctions start at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. London time, which is currently 2:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Pacific. Silver has one auction at noon London time.
• Rounds of 30 seconds. ICE posts a price, and participants enter how much they want to buy or sell at that price. If buying and selling are too far out of balance, the price is adjusted and a new round starts.
• Price is set when it balances. Once the gap is within a set threshold, the auction ends and that final price is published in U.S. dollars per troy ounce.

Miners, refiners, central banks, and investors worldwide use these benchmarks as reference prices. Between auctions, gold keeps trading in London, New York, and Asian markets.

What changed this week

On Monday, October 5, ICE Futures Europe opened trading in four new physically delivered daily futures contracts in London, for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, cleared by ICE Clear Europe. Kitco reports that the contracts are directly linked to London's daily price auctions.

That is notable because, as Kitco points out, London has not had a major gold futures market in years despite dominating physical trading. Earlier tries did not last: the London Gold Futures Market opened in 1982 and closed three years later, and a London Metal Exchange gold contract launched in 2017 was discontinued in 2022. New York has long had active gold futures. On Tuesday, Reuters reported December U.S. gold futures settled at $4,187.10 while spot gold traded near $4,168, a reminder that futures and spot are related prices, not the same price.

Asia is building too. Reuters reported Tuesday, from the LBMA's annual conference, that Hong Kong plans its first central clearing and settlement system for gold in early 2027 and aims for more than 2,000 metric tons of storage capacity within two years, while Singapore is starting central bank gold-vaulting services this month. A Monetary Authority of Singapore official said the aim is "to complement price discovery in the Asian time zone," not to displace Western hubs.

From a 400-ounce bar to your 1-ounce coin

When you see a "spot" price, including the live spot prices on our site, you are looking at a wholesale market price for gold, not the price of a finished coin on a counter. Turning big-bar gold into a 1 oz coin or small bar takes refining, minting, shipping, and dealer costs, so every retail product carries a premium over spot.

Size shows up clearly on our gold page this afternoon:

• A 1-kilo gold bar worked out to roughly $4,240 an ounce.
• A 1 oz gold bar was around $4,320.
• A 1 oz American Gold Eagle was around $4,350.

With spot near about $4,167, the bigger the piece, the smaller the premium per ounce. Small, well-known coins cost a bit more per ounce but are easier to budget for and to sell. Our guides to gold spot price vs. premium and gold coins vs. gold bars walk through that tradeoff.

Does this change what you pay?

Our take (opinion): Not day to day. The new London futures are tools for banks, refiners, and funds; our counter price will still follow global spot plus a premium. What the news does show is that big institutions keep investing in gold's plumbing, from London to Hong Kong and Singapore. We read that as a sign gold remains a serious global asset.

It also explains something buyers ask us: why the price moves overnight. The London auctions happen while Oregon sleeps and gold trades across time zones, so the price at 8 a.m. may already reflect hours of overseas trading. If you want gold you can hold rather than a paper position, our post on physical gold vs. gold ETFs compares the two.

The bigger forces are still rates and the dollar. CME FedWatch on Tuesday showed only about a 22% chance of a Fed hike this month but about 84% for December, according to Reuters. TD Securities expects gold above $5,000 an ounce in 2027, a forecast, not a promise.

What to watch this week

The Fed releases minutes from its September meeting Wednesday at 11 a.m. Pacific, followed by weekly jobless claims Thursday and preliminary October consumer sentiment Friday. The September CPI report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes Wednesday, October 14, at 5:30 a.m. Pacific.

Stop by and see the difference

Want to compare a 1 oz coin, a 1 oz bar, and larger bars side by side, or sell gold you own? We are happy to walk through prices, premiums, and buy prices with you. Visit Local Coin Company at 19354 SW Boones Ferry Rd., Tualatin, OR 97062, Monday through Friday 8 AM to 4 PM or Saturday 8 AM to 3 PM. Appointments have priority, so call 503-855-5255 to schedule.

Sources: Kitco News, October 6, 2026; Reuters via Kitco, October 6, 2026; ICE Benchmark Administration, LBMA Precious Metals page and Gold Auction Specification; ICE Futures Europe Circular 26/144; LBMA London Vault Data (August 2026) and About Good Delivery; Kitco News, October 5 and 6, 2026 (economic calendar); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics release schedule; localcoinco.com prices as of October 6, 2026.