What is a gold spot market?

A gold spot market is a market where professional gold dealers buy and sell gold to each other and transactions are settled immediately. This distributed market, which is composed of gold dealers from across the world without a physical location, is governed by a set of rules and standards.

A significant rule in the spot gold market is that the buyer must make the full payment within 24 hours. Other rules include the quotation of the price in US dollars and the requirement that the gold must be unallocated at the time of trade. The gold is typically delivered in whole 400 ounce bars.