Precious Metals Spot Prices
Real-time spot prices for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Track live market data, 24-hour trends, 30-day historical charts, and multi-timeframe performance comparisons to make informed Gold IRA investment decisions.
TL;DR: Spot prices are the real-time market prices for precious metals, updated continuously during trading hours. Dealers charge a 3–8% premium above spot. Gold prices are driven by inflation, dollar weakness, and safe-haven demand. Silver has higher industrial demand and more volatility. Platinum and palladium prices are heavily influenced by automotive industry demand. Monitor spot prices before purchasing metals for your IRA to ensure fair value.
Spot Prices
Current market prices for IRA-approved precious metals, updated daily. Prices are sourced from global commodity exchanges and reflect the spot rate per troy ounce in USD.
Updated daily
per oz
per oz
per oz
per oz
⚠ Last known prices as of Mar 29, 2026
30-Day Price History
View 30-day price history for each metal. Use the toggle buttons to switch between gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Compare price movements to identify trends and volatility patterns.
Track price movements over the last month
No historical data available
Data provided by metals.dev
Performance Comparison
Compare how each precious metal has performed over 1-week, 1-month, and 1-year timeframes. Use these comparisons to understand relative strength and identify which metals are trending.
Compare performance across timeframes
Data provided by metals.dev
What Are Spot Prices?
The spot price is the current market price for precious metals traded on global commodity exchanges. It represents the cost per troy ounce for immediate delivery of the metal in its purest form, as traded on exchanges like COMEX (Commodity Exchange) in New York.
Spot prices fluctuate continuously during trading hours — roughly 6pm Sunday through 5pm Friday Eastern Time — based on real-time supply and demand dynamics. The price you see at any given moment reflects the consensus of millions of buyers and sellers worldwide.
For Gold IRA investors, the spot price is the baseline from which all physical metal purchases are priced. Dealers add a premium above spot to cover fabrication, distribution, and profit margins. Understanding spot prices helps you evaluate whether you're getting a fair deal when purchasing metals for your IRA.
Factors Affecting Precious Metal Prices
• Inflation rates and CPI data
• Interest rate decisions from central banks
• GDP growth and economic outlook
• Employment data and labor market strength
• US Dollar index (DXY) strength
• Stock market performance and risk sentiment
• Bond yields and real interest rates
• ETF flows and institutional positioning
• Central bank gold purchases
• Futures market speculation
• Trade tensions and tariffs
• Political instability and conflicts
• Sanctions and supply disruptions
• Safe-haven demand during crises
• Currency devaluations
• Automotive industry (platinum, palladium)
• Electronics and solar panels (silver)
• Medical and dental applications
• Jewelry and luxury goods
• Mining supply and production costs
Understanding Dealer Markups
When you purchase physical precious metals for your Gold IRA, you pay more than the spot price. This additional cost is called the dealer premium or markup. Understanding markups helps you compare dealers and evaluate the true cost of your investment.
| Metal | Typical Premium | Common Products | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 3–5% | American Eagles, Maple Leafs, bars | Lowest premiums for larger bars |
| Silver | 5–15% | American Eagles, Maple Leafs, rounds | Higher premiums due to lower unit value |
| Platinum | 4–8% | American Eagles, Maple Leafs, bars | Lower liquidity than gold/silver |
| Palladium | 5–10% | Maple Leafs, bars | Fewest IRA-approved products available |
How to Monitor Prices for Your IRA
Effective price monitoring helps you make better purchasing decisions for your Gold IRA. Here are the key strategies used by experienced precious metals investors:
Track the 50-day and 200-day moving averages
These technical indicators help identify long-term trends. When the spot price is above both averages, the trend is bullish. When it falls below, it may signal a correction.
Watch the US Dollar Index (DXY)
Gold and the dollar typically move inversely. When the DXY weakens, gold tends to rise. Monitor the dollar alongside gold prices for context.
Monitor real interest rates
Real rates (nominal rates minus inflation) have a strong inverse relationship with gold. When real rates fall or go negative, gold tends to outperform.
Consider dollar-cost averaging
Rather than trying to time the market, making regular purchases spreads your cost basis over time and reduces the impact of short-term price volatility.
Gold vs Silver vs Platinum vs Palladium
Each precious metal has unique price drivers, volatility profiles, and IRA suitability characteristics. Understanding these differences helps you build a well-diversified precious metals portfolio.
Gold is the most popular IRA metal and the primary safe-haven asset. Its price is driven by monetary policy, inflation expectations, and geopolitical risk. Gold has the deepest market liquidity, lowest premiums, and widest selection of IRA-approved products. It is the anchor of most precious metals portfolios.
IRA minimum purity: 99.5% (0.9999 fine preferred)
Silver combines monetary and industrial demand, making it more volatile than gold. It is used extensively in electronics, solar panels, and medical devices. Silver offers higher upside potential during bull markets but also deeper drawdowns. Its lower price per ounce means you can accumulate more physical weight, but storage costs are proportionally higher.
IRA minimum purity: 99.9% (0.999 fine)
Platinum is rarer than gold and has significant industrial applications, particularly in catalytic converters and hydrogen fuel cells. Its price can be volatile due to concentrated mining supply (primarily South Africa) and shifts in automotive demand. Platinum has historically traded at a premium to gold but has spent extended periods below gold prices in recent years.
IRA minimum purity: 99.95% (0.9995 fine)
Palladium is primarily an industrial metal used in catalytic converters for gasoline vehicles. Its price is highly sensitive to automotive production levels and the shift toward electric vehicles. Palladium has fewer IRA-approved products than other metals and lower market liquidity. It can be suitable for diversification but carries higher concentration risk.
IRA minimum purity: 99.95% (0.9995 fine)
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Open a Gold IRA?
Compare the top Gold IRA companies and find the right custodian for your precious metals investment.
Spot prices are provided for informational purposes only and are sourced from metals.dev. Prices reflect market data and may differ from actual dealer transaction prices. This content is not financial advice. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.