Fixing vs. Spot
Also: LBMA Fixing, London Fix, Spot Rate
The spot price is the continuously traded market price for immediate delivery, whereas the fixing is a reference price set only once (or twice) a day.
Buyers and sellers meet the gold price and the other precious metal quotes in two distinct guises: as a spot price and as a fixing. Both describe the very same raw material, yet their methodology, timing and purpose could hardly be more different.
Spot price – the market price in real time
The spot price (also called the spot rate) is the live trading price for physical metal, or the equivalent contract, with near-immediate settlement, typically within two business days (T+2). It trades around the clock across the major venues such as COMEX in New York, the LBMA over-the-counter market in London and the Asian exchanges, and it moves second by second in response to supply, demand and currency shifts.
Spot prices underpin almost every dealer quote: bar and coin dealers add their premium (agio) on top of spot to arrive at a selling price.
Fixing – the official daily reference
The LBMA Gold Price is established twice a day, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, through an electronic auction run under the oversight of ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA). It produces a single, once-a-day reference figure in USD per troy ounce.
| Feature | Spot price | Fixing |
|---|---|---|
| Frequency | continuous (24/5) | twice daily (AM / PM) |
| How it is set | exchange trading (bid/ask) | electronic auction (IBA) |
| Purpose | trading, hedging | contracts, accounting, mine sales |
| Currency | mostly USD/oz, also EUR | USD/oz (official publication) |
Miners, central banks, refineries and institutional buyers use the fixing as a binding settlement basis in long-term supply contracts, and many savings plans also settle at the fixing price.
Why this matters for private investors
For buying gold bars or bullion coins, the spot price is the more relevant figure: it determines your entry point in real time. The fixing serves more as a historical marker; being a single number fixed each day, it lends itself well to historical price comparisons and portfolio valuations.
The gap between the AM fixing and the live spot can, depending on the time of day and market conditions, amount to several dollars an ounce. The spot price reacts instantly to currency movements; the fixing only catches up at the next auction.
In short
Spot is the living market price that ticks by the second; the fixing is its once-a-day snapshot, indispensable for contracts and accounts but too slow-moving for active trading.