Twice every business day, at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. London time, a small group of banks sets a single benchmark price for gold. That number ripples out to dealers, refiners, ETFs, and the IRA statement in your mailbox. This is the gold fix. It’s the benchmark price for gold, set twice a day through a short auction and used as the reference point for pricing gold around the world.
This post covers how the gold fix gets set, where it came from, how it became today’s electronic LBMA Gold Price, and what it means if you own physical metal.
Understanding the gold fix
The gold fix is a benchmark price for gold set twice each business day. Today it’s officially called the LBMA Gold Price, quoted in US dollars per fine troy ounce. The London Bullion Market Association also publishes the number in other currencies, but those are indicative figures for settlement between members, not separate prices. You’ll also see it called the London gold fix or gold fixing, names that go back to where it started.
The fix is a reference point. It’s not the only price gold trades at. Most gold products and derivatives around the world are priced against it.
The benchmark is the starting measure for:
- When a refiner sells a bar
- A fund values its holdings
- A dealer quotes a coin
How the gold fix works
The gold fix is an auction. A chair proposes a price close to the current spot price. The participating firms then say how much gold they’d buy or sell at that number. If buyers want more than sellers offer, the price moves up. If sellers offer more than buyers want, it moves down. The price keeps adjusting until the two sides roughly balance, and that’s the figure that gets published.
Any participant can pause the auction if they need to check with clients or their own traders. They do it by saying one word, “flag.” In the older in-person version, they raised a small Union Jack on the desk instead.
Since 2015, the entire process is electronic. ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) operates the auction for the LBMA, and it’s auditable from start to finish. The participants are a panel of accredited banks and trading firms, including names like JPMorgan, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, and the Bank of China.
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History of the gold fix
The gold fix started on September 12, 1919, when five London bullion firms met at the offices of N M Rothschild & Sons and agreed on a single price: £4 18s 9d per troy ounce, a little under five pounds. For decades, they set it once a day. Here’s how the benchmark changed over time:
| Year | What happened |
| 1919 | Five London firms set the first fix at N M Rothschild’s New Court offices |
| 1939 to 1954 | Fixing was suspended while the London gold market was closed |
| 1968 | A second daily fix was added to match the US market open |
| 2004 | Rothschild exits gold; Barclays takes its seat; the meeting moves to a phone conference |
| 2014 | UK regulators fine Barclays over manipulation of the fix |
| 2015 | The electronic LBMA Gold Price replaces the old fixing |
From the London gold fixing to the LBMA Gold Price
On June 28, 2012, a Barclays employee moved the fix to avoid a payout on a derivative the bank had sold a client. Barclays reported the incident itself. In May 2014, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority fined the bank £26 million for control failures over nine years and for that manipulation.
The reform followed. In March 2015, the old phone-based fixing was replaced by the LBMA Gold Price, the electronic auction run by IBA. The new format is electronic and auditable, supervised by a regulated administrator.
The gold fix vs. the spot price
People mix up the gold fix and the spot price, but they’re two different things. Here’s how they compare:
| Detail | Gold fix (LBMA Gold Price) | Spot price |
| How often it’s set | Twice a business day | Continuously, all day |
| What it is | A benchmark struck by a short auction | The live market price right now |
| Main use | Settling contracts and pricing products | Real-time quotes and trading |
| Who leans on it | Refiners, miners, funds, and dealers | Anyone watching the market minute to minute |
The fix is a snapshot taken twice a day. Spot is the live feed that moves every second the market is open. A dealer’s quote references one of these numbers, then adds a premium for the coin or bar itself.
What the gold fix means if you own physical gold
You won’t buy or sell your coins at the gold fix. The benchmark is the reference the dealer’s price is built on, and the premium on top covers the finished coin or bar and the cost of making and handling it. A one-ounce coin costs more than one ounce of the benchmark metal because you’re getting a finished, recognized coin, not a raw number on a screen.
The same benchmark shows up in places you might not expect. Your Gold IRA statement values its metal against it. Gold ETFs price their shares from it. The figure quoted on financial news traces back to it. Knowing what the fix is helps you understand any of those numbers.
Final thoughts on the gold fix
The gold fix is the benchmark the whole gold market measures itself against, including the coin or bar you’d buy. Knowing what it is takes the mystery out of how gold gets priced.
To learn more about investing in gold and other precious metals, connect with the Swiss America team today!
What is the gold fix: FAQs
What’s today’s gold fix?
The gold fix is published twice every business day by the LBMA, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, London time. As of this writing, the price of gold is ....
- Where to find it: The LBMA posts the official LBMA Gold Price after each auction in US dollars per troy ounce.
- Two numbers a day: Because it’s set twice, there’s a morning (AM) fix and an afternoon (PM) fix, and they can differ.
- Live vs. fixed: Between fixings, the live spot price keeps moving, so the current market price won’t match the last fix exactly.
What is the difference between the AM and PM gold fix?
The AM fix is set at 10:30 a.m. London time and the PM fix at 3:00 p.m. London time. They’re the same auction run at two different points in the day, so they capture two different sets of market conditions.
- Why there are two: The afternoon fix was added in 1968 to line up with the start of US trading, when more of the world’s buyers are active.
- Which one gets used: Many contracts and products settle against the PM fix because it reflects both London and early US activity.
- They can differ: If the market moves between morning and afternoon, the two prices won’t match.
Is the gold price still manipulated?
No. Ever since 2012, when the Barclays situation led to a £26 million fine, the fix runs as an electronic, auditable auction supervised by ICE Benchmark Administration.
- What changed: The old phone process was replaced by a transparent auction with a recorded audit trail.
- Oversight: A regulated administrator now runs it, rather than the participating banks setting it among themselves.
- No system is perfect: Oversight lowers the risk without erasing it, which is one reason many buyers prefer holding physical metal they control directly.
Is there a silver fix too?
Yes. The LBMA sets a silver price once a day at noon London time, and platinum and palladium each get two daily benchmarks.
- Silver: The LBMA Silver Price is set daily and quoted in US dollars per ounce.
- Platinum and palladium: Both are benchmarked twice a day, in the morning and the afternoon.
- Same idea: Each one works as a reference price that the rest of that metal’s market is quoted against.
What was the highest gold fix price?
Gold’s benchmark price has set new records many times over the decades. As of this writing, gold trades well above its earlier highs at ... per ounce.
- An early milestone: The fix hit $850 on January 21, 1980, a level it didn’t pass again until January 3, 2008.
- Records keep moving: Each new run higher resets the record, so the all-time high keeps climbing over time.
- Why it rises: Long stretches of inflation and a declining dollar push the benchmark price higher.
The information in this post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Please consult with your own tax professionals before making any decisions or taking action based on this information.
