Gold (GC=F) June futures opened at $4,644 per troy ounce on Monday, down 1.4% from last Monday’s opening price. Gold moved even lower in early trading, moving to $4,569.80 by 6:54 a.m. ET.
Silver (SI=F) July futures opened at $76.45 per ounce on Monday, 1.6% higher than last Monday’s opening price. The price of silver fell in early trading, edging down to $73.83 by 6:54 a.m. ET.
President Trump announced “Project Freedom” this weekend, an effort to guide ships from countries not at all involved in the U.S.-Iran conflict safely out of the Strait of Hormuz. Despite this signal of progress, markets seem to be reacting with a wait-and-see approach. The price of gold and silver both moved lower this morning following the news.
Investors have plenty to digest this week with a full slate of corporate earnings and economic reports, including the April jobs numbers due on Friday. Brent crude prices are still over $112 a barrel this morning, up 3.5% in the last five days.
The health of the economy and energy prices are just two factors that will influence central bank rate-cut decisions in the months ahead. Higher interest rates put downward pressure on precious metal prices.
Current price of gold
The opening price of gold futures on Monday was down 1.4% from last Monday’s opening price. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: -1.4%
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One month ago: -2.5%
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One year ago: +43.3%
The one-year gain for gold was 95.6% on Jan. 29.
24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.
Current price of silver
The opening price of silver futures on Monday was 1.6% higher than last Monday’s opening price. Here’s how the opening silver price has changed versus last week, month, and year:
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One week ago: +1.6%
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One month ago: +3.7%
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One year ago: +136.1%
Learn more: How to invest in silver: A beginner’s guide
Gold prices explained
The price of gold can be quoted in multiple forms because the precious metal is traded in different ways. The two main gold prices investors should know about are spot prices and gold futures prices.
Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps
The spot price
The spot price of gold is the current market price per ounce for physical gold as a raw material, sometimes called spot gold. Gold ETFs that are backed by physical gold assets generally track the gold spot price.
The spot price is lower than what you’d pay to buy gold coins, bullion, or jewelry, since your total price will include a markup called the gold premium that covers refining, marketing, dealer overhead, and profits. The spot price is more like a wholesale price, and the spot price plus the gold premium is the retail price.
Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here’s what investors should watch for.
Gold futures
Gold futures are contracts that mandate a gold transaction at a specific price on a future date. These contracts are exchange-traded and more liquid than physical gold. They settle on the contract expiration date or earlier, either financially or via delivery. A financial cash settlement involves paying the contract’s profit or loss in cash. Delivery means the seller sends physical gold to the buyer for the contracted price.
Factors that affect gold prices
Supply and demand determine gold spot prices and gold futures prices. Factors that influence gold supply and demand include:
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Geopolitical events
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Central bank buying trends
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Inflation
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Interest rates
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Mining production
Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How prices are determined.
Price of gold and silver charts
Whether you’re tracking the price of gold and silver since last month or last year, the price of gold and silver charts below show the precious metals’ change in value.
More silver coverage from the Yahoo Finance team:
