Gold (GC=F) December futures opened at $4,673.40 per troy ounce on Monday, August 24, 2026, down 0.2% from Friday’s closing price. The price of gold is rising this morning at $4,712.60 per troy ounce as of 8:30 a.m. ET.
Gold opened above $4,600 for the first time since May 15 and even peaked earlier today above $4,700. Gold hasn’t reached past $4,700 since May 13.
Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi published a great piece this morning on why gold prices have recently rallied, and why he and many analysts expect gold prices to remain “hot” through the end of the month, and perhaps even beyond that:
Gold and silver prices are being fueled by a potent combination of monetary policy interventions, escalating geopolitical friction in the Middle East, and persistent global inflation.
A major catalyst for the late-August breakout has been U.S. Treasury’s unexpected decision to double its long-term bond buyback program to $4 billion per session. In turn, this has triggered an aggressive wave of short-covering and speculative buying across precious metals markets.
At the same time, a never-ending war with Iran -which has pushed up energy prices once again — has reinforced gold’s status as the primary global safe-haven asset.
Keep reading: Why gold and silver prices have added $5 trillion in value
Current price of gold
The opening price of gold futures on Monday, August 24, 2026, was down 0.2% from Friday’s closing 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: +6.3%
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One month ago: +14.9%
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One year ago: +39.5%
For context, 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.
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 chart
Whether you’re tracking the price since last month or last year, the price of gold chart below shows the precious metal’s change in value.