What Is The Gold Fix?
The Gold fix is the market-clearing price of gold and is set twice daily in London, in the morning - AM and evening - PM.
It's Odd-Ball Alright! Learn about the bizarre History of the Gold Fix Here...
Jewelry historians might be experts in the historical accuracy of a piece but when it comes to gold market intelligence, and buying gold, well, in fact, many of those experts haven't got much of a idea.
Understanding how gold is fixed, the gold market, the price of gold or how much a gram of gold is worth, what caratage means, are important to know about, especially in today's volatile economy. So even if you're not a gold bug, some understanding in this area, will help you obtain the best gold price when buying gold in the form of physical gold jewelry. And for old-gold invest, that's an important consideration to take into account.
It helps to understand the calculation used in the scrap value of gold too. If you have been tooling everywhere on the internet on how to calculate the scrap value of gold please see - How To Calculate the Scrap Value of Gold in Six Easy Steps in the Jewelry Resources...
You will need to know Today's Gold Price to calculate the scrap value of gold. See the current Gold Prices at the top right-hand column on this page.
The Gold Fix is a Pricing Benchmark
In a nutshell, London Gold Fixing provides a recognized rate that is used as a benchmark for pricing the majority of gold investments, products, and derivatives throughout the markets of the world.
Five members of the London gold pool, all members of the London Bullion Market Association, fix the price of gold twice daily in London. The fixes start at 10.30 a.m., and 3.00 p.m. London time, although the duration of time to reach an agreed fixing price can vary. Today fixing can often be reached in minutes by telephone.
The London P.M. fix, of all the gold spot prices, is the price at which the world’s largest size gold purchases and sales are accomplished on any given day. This is the one price of gold in U.S. dollars which is quoted daily, and familiarly, around the world.
The London fixing is designed to fix a price for settling contracts between members of the London bullion market, but informally the Fixing provides a recognized rate that is used as a benchmark for pricing the majority of gold products and derivatives throughout the world's markets.
The first fixing took place on 12 September 1919 amongst the five principal gold bullion traders and refiners of the day: N M Rothschild & Sons, Mocatta & Goldsmid, Pixley & Abell, Samuel Montagu & Co., and Sharps Wilkins.
The gold price then was four pounds 18 shillings and ninepence (GBP 4.9375) per troy ounce.
Due to wartime emergencies and government controls, it was suspended between 1939 and 1954.
What The Gold Fix Is Not
Many people, (and even some of the media) think that the gold price is fixed in US dollars. It's not the case folks, it's actually Fixed in pounds sterling (GBP), and also Euros, although the pricing in Euros is fairly new.
Fix & quote mean different things. Even if you live in the UK, whenever you see a gold price quoted, it will almost always be in US dollars. It is usually never quoted (at the irritation of many Brits) in Sterling (GBP) or Euro.
Although it sounds a bit contradictory, the gold fix price is NOT fixed as in today's price or this morning's price, and that all gold transactions for the whole morning, afternoon or day, are carried out at that fixing price.
The fixed price is the price at the exact instant in time at which it is agreed. Within seconds, it will be trading at different prices. Non-professionals may wonder why then is it called a fixing price?
The answer simply is that the five members use it to establish a market price that is Fixed only for that precise moment, at which they can balance their sales and purchase requirements, including orders and commissions from clients.
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