Live gold price (XAU/USD)

What the spot number is and how it is set

The spot gold price is the price for immediate delivery of one troy ounce in US dollars, and it is set continuously by trading across global over-the-counter and futures markets rather than by a single exchange. Quotes are aggregated from liquidity providers, so the number you see is a consensus mid-price at that moment, not a promise anyone will deal at it.

Because gold is quoted in dollars, the rand price a South African sees is the dollar price multiplied by USD/ZAR. A flat gold market can still produce a rising rand gold price if the rand weakens, which is why local traders watch the currency pair alongside the metal rather than treating the two as the same exposure.

Why your broker's price differs: the spread

Your broker's price differs from the spot mid because the broker quotes a bid and an ask, and the gap between them is the spread. You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, so the spread is a cost you pay on entry and again implicitly on exit; it is separate from any commission or overnight financing on your account.

The size of that spread is not fixed. It depends on the liquidity provider, the account type and the moment — it typically widens when volatility jumps, around rollover, and during thin hours. Check the live spread in your platform before sizing a trade, because a wider spread changes the real cost of the same position.

How to read the change and the refresh

The change figure shows how far the current price has moved from a reference point such as the prior close, usually as both an absolute dollar amount and a percentage. A positive change means gold is up on the session; a negative one means it is down. Read it as context, not as a signal, because a large change can mean either a trend or a violent reversal.

The price refreshes as new quotes arrive, so it can move between the moment you read it and the moment you act. For planning, that is fine — the calculators here use the number you enter, not a locked quote. For execution, always confirm the current bid and ask in the platform before placing the order.

How this price feeds the calculators

The live price is the input that makes the other tools concrete. Position size uses your entry and stop to work out lot size; pip value uses the lot size to price a 0.01 move; margin uses the notional value at a given leverage; and profit/loss uses entry and exit to produce money and pips.

Because all five calculators accept the price you type in, you can plan a trade at the current quote, at a pullback level or at a breakout level without waiting for the market to reach it. That is the point of the toolkit: decide the numbers before the price moves, so the decision is made calmly rather than in the moment.

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

The figure on this page is a delayed reference rate for XAU/USD, typically sourced from aggregated interbank or exchange feeds rather than your broker's live order book. That means it reflects where gold was trading shortly before the page loaded, not the exact price at which your next order will fill. In South Africa, where you might be checking the rand equivalent via a ZAR conversion, the delay matters because a move of a few cents in the dollar price translates into a visibly different rand figure on your screen.

Latency here is best understood as the gap between the moment a trade happens in the underlying market and the moment that trade is reflected in the number you see. A reference feed may update every few seconds or even less frequently, depending on the provider, so the number is always a snapshot of the recent past. If you are comparing it to a live chart on MT4, MT5 or cTrader, expect the broker's quote to move first while this page catches up a moment later.

For practical decisions, treat this page as a context check rather than an execution trigger. The latency means you cannot use it to scalp a one-cent move or to verify a fill to the exact cent. It is useful for understanding the general level of XAU/USD, for sanity-checking a calculator, and for seeing the direction of travel. When you actually place an order, the price that matters is the one on your platform, not the delayed reference shown here.

Why a broker's quote differs from a reference price

A broker's quote differs from a reference price because the broker is quoting the price at which it is willing to trade with you, not the price at which banks are trading with each other. That quote includes the broker's own spread and reflects its liquidity arrangements, risk management and the specific venue or venues it uses for XAU/USD. A reference feed, by contrast, tries to represent a broader market midpoint. The two are related but serve different purposes, and the gap between them is normal rather than a sign of error.

For a South African trader, the difference is visible when you compare this page's XAU/USD number with the bid and ask on your platform. The broker's ask will typically sit above the reference midpoint and the bid below it, with the distance depending on market conditions and the broker's pricing model. FxPro offers MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, and each platform will show the quote as it is being streamed to your account, which may itself vary slightly between platforms if they route orders differently.

The practical takeaway is that a small difference between this reference and your broker's quote is expected and is not something you can arbitrage. It reflects the cost of doing business and the reality that your order fills against your broker's book. Always check the live bid and ask on your platform before sizing a position, especially if you are converting to rand and want to understand the full cost in local currency.

Bid, ask and the gap between them

The bid is the price at which you can sell XAU/USD, and the ask is the price at which you can buy; the gap between them is the spread. For gold, one pip is 0.01, so a spread of, say, a few cents is expressed in pips. The spread is not a fixed number you can memorise because it depends on liquidity, volatility and the broker's execution model. What you can rely on is that the ask is always higher than the bid, and the difference is a cost you pay on entry.

In practice, the spread widens when liquidity thins, such as around major news releases or at the daily rollover, and it can narrow when the market is deep and active. Because the spread is a cost, it affects your breakeven point: a long position must rise by at least the spread before it shows a profit, and a short must fall by the same. That is why understanding the gap matters more than memorising a single figure.

On this page you see a single reference number, which is typically a midpoint, not a tradeable bid or ask. To see the actual gap, you need your broker's platform. When you open a 0.10-lot gold position, each pip is worth $0.10 because one lot is 100 oz and a pip is 0.01, so a spread of a few pips translates into a small but real dollar cost. Convert that to rand at your platform's ZAR rate to see it in local terms.

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

A stale quote looks like a price that has stopped moving while the market around it has clearly shifted, or a bid and ask that remain frozen for longer than usual. On a platform, you might see the same number persist through a period when related instruments or news headlines suggest gold should be moving. The danger is that you act on a price that no longer exists, and your order fills at a different level or is rejected. Stale quotes are most common during low-liquidity periods, technical glitches, or when your internet connection drops.

The first thing to do is refresh your platform's quote and check the timestamp if one is available. If the price still does not update, compare it with another source such as this reference page or a second platform to confirm whether the issue is with your connection or the broker's feed. Avoid placing market orders during a suspected stale quote because you may get a fill far from what you expected. Instead, use limit orders or wait until the feed resumes normal behaviour.

In South Africa, where load shedding or unstable connectivity can interrupt your access, a stale quote may simply be a local problem rather than a market event. Check your connection and restart your platform if needed. If the quote remains frozen while other instruments update, contact your broker's support. Never assume a stale price is a bargain; it is more likely a trap that can lead to unintended losses.

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

This figure refreshes at intervals set by the data provider, which may be every few seconds or longer depending on the feed. It is not a live streaming quote and should not be treated as one. A stale figure on this page looks like a number that has not changed across multiple manual refreshes, or one that lags noticeably behind a live chart on your broker's platform. Because the page is a reference tool, some lag is by design, but an unusually long pause can indicate a feed issue.

To judge whether the figure is stale, compare it with the live bid and ask on MT4, MT5, cTrader or FxPro Edge. If the platform shows movement while this page remains static, the reference feed is likely delayed or temporarily interrupted. In fast markets, such as around US data releases or geopolitical headlines, the gap between the reference and the live quote can widen quickly, making the page look stale even when it is simply slower.

The practical response is to rely on your platform for execution and use this page for context only. If you notice the figure has not moved for an extended period during active market hours, treat it as unreliable and check an alternative source. For South African traders, the rand conversion on this page may also lag the dollar price, so always confirm the ZAR equivalent on your platform before making a decision.

The difference between a spot reference and the broker's tradeable quote

A spot reference is a indicative midpoint price for XAU/USD that aims to represent the broad market, while a broker's tradeable quote is the actual bid and ask you can transact at. The reference is useful for understanding the level of gold and for calculators, but it is not a price you can trade. Your broker's quote includes the spread and any other execution costs, and it is the only price that matters when you click buy or sell. Confusing the two can lead to unrealistic expectations about fills.

The difference becomes concrete when you consider a 0.10-lot position. At 1:200 leverage, that position needs about $85.50 margin, but the entry cost also includes the spread on the broker's quote. If the reference shows 4275.0 but your broker's ask is a few cents higher, your effective entry is that ask, not the reference. This is why two traders looking at the same reference page can have different profit and loss outcomes depending on their broker's pricing.

For South African readers, the distinction also affects how you convert to rand. The reference page might show a ZAR equivalent based on one rate, while your broker's platform uses its own conversion. Always treat the spot reference as information and the broker's quote as the executable truth. When in doubt, check the bid and ask on your platform immediately before you trade, and size your position with the spread cost in mind.