Store of value and jewellery. The contract it trades on, who produces it, the figures its price is set against, how to get exposure, and how far its price fell from its highs in five years.
Verified figures, not advice. Contract terms, production, stocks and fund costs come from the exchange, government agencies and fund issuers named beside each figure, read on 14 Oct 2026. A figure we could not verify is shown as "not verified"; a figure we worked out ourselves is marked "computed". We do not say where a price is going or whether to buy. Commodity funds and futures can lose more than you expect. Found a mistake? Tell us and we correct it.
Source: cmegroup.com. Read on 2026-10-14.
USGS MCS 2026 estimates 2025 mine production: China 380 t, Russia 310 t, Australia 280 t of world 3,300 t; shares derived and rounded to 0.1. Source: pubs.usgs.gov.
Price alone does not say whether a commodity is dear or cheap. Stocks, balances and costs show how tight or loose the market is. We list them as published, with the date.
What it measuresFigureAs ofSource
Average all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of gold miners
1,785 US$ per ounce
Q1 2026 (WGC article 2026-08-24; average AISC margin 3,076 US$/oz)
Central bank net gold purchases
288.9 in Q2 2026; 345 in H1 2026 tonnes
WGC Gold Demand Trends Q2 2026, published 2026-07-30
From Oct 2021 to Sep 2026 the front-month futures price of Gold changed by +134.7%. The path matters as much as that end result: the deepest fall below a previous high was -23.0%, from Feb 2026 to Jun 2026 (4 months).
It has not climbed back to that earlier high.
At the end of Sep 2026 it was 20.2% below its highest month-end (Feb 2026).
Time spent more than 20% below its high: 3 of 60 months.
Among the 14 commodities with a chart here, the median deepest fall was -49.0%. Gold ranks 14 of 14 from deepest, so its fall was shallower than the median.
A second, independent series (SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) closing prices, Nasdaq; month-end) gives a deepest fall of -23.8%, a gap of 0.8 points from ours, with the low point 0 months apart. We take the two as agreeing.
How we made this: month-end settlement prices of the front-month futures contract from Yahoo Finance, read on 14 October 2026, checked against a second source as described above. A front-month series jumps when the contract changes, so it is not the return of any fund. The figures and the chart are our own calculation; we do not republish the raw prices.
ProductStructureAnnual costSource
SPDR Gold Shares
GLD, World Gold Trust Services, LLC (sponsor)
Physical gold trust
0.40%
Gross expense ratio per SSGA fund page, as of 2026-10-14
iShares Gold Trust
IAU, iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC (BlackRock affiliate)
Physical gold bullion trust
0.25%
Sponsor fee per June 30, 2026 fact sheet
Futures roll. Not applicable to physical trusts: IAU holds gold bullion rather than futures, so there is no futures roll; roll yield and contango matter only for futures-based gold products. (ishares.com)
A gold futures price is not the same as owning the metal: futures are margined, expire, and can settle by delivery, while physical funds charge an ongoing fee and track spot rather than futures prices.
A price move says what buyers paid, not what the commodity is worth. For what we mean by value, see What is value?
Questions people ask
What moves the price of Gold?
Central bank buying: net purchases were 288.9 t in Q2 2026, up 62% year on year, and 45% of surveyed central banks plan to raise reserves over 12 months.
How can I get exposure to Gold?
Through futures on CME Group (COMEX), or through funds and exchange-traded products. Step 6 lists the ones we verified, with structure and cost. Funds that hold futures can differ from the spot price.
Why can a fund differ from the price I see?
A fund that holds futures must sell contracts about to expire and buy later ones. When the later ones cost more (contango) each roll can cost money; when they cost less it can add. A fund that holds the physical metal has no roll but pays storage and fees.