A century-old gold pricing mechanism has been replaced by an electronic platform

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We hear the word “quote” no less often than the word “price”. What the price means is known to everyone, but it’s worth understanding the quotes in more detail. In France they are called Cote, in England - Financial quote. Both indicate the price level acceptable for a buyer to buy and for a seller to sell. Quotes

(gold, for example) are rapidly changing exchange prices, which for convenience are often visualized in the form of graphs.

Once or several times a day, a special commission fixes or quotes prices on stock and commodity exchanges. The meaning of the verb “quote” follows from the word “coter” in French, meaning to mark (number).

Sources of quotes

Along with the era of the “gold standard,” gone are the days when gold consistently had the same value. Today's gold market dynamics are cyclical. A long recession is always followed by a period of growth. World political and economic events inevitably affect the precious metals market. The current rise in prices is a consequence of the global economic crisis, geopolitical tensions and trade conflicts.

Wanting to save their earned funds during the “turmoil” before they become just paper or meaningless numbers in a bank account, many seek to invest their savings in assets that are reliable and liquid. In this sense, humanity simply does not know anything more suitable than gold.

Potential investors will show keen interest not only in today's gold quotes, but also in tomorrow's possible exchange rate, as well as in price dynamics for the long term.

Among the trusted sources displaying the price of the yellow metal are the following:

• Metal Exchange in London;
• New York Commodity Exchange;
• Central Bank of the Russian Federation;
• Russian Sberbank;
• Yandex search engine.

London Metal Exchange (LME)

This is the largest platform in the world where non-ferrous and precious metals are traded. Over the century of the exchange's existence, the trading system has remained unchanged. Only the use of conference calls has been added. There are 6 main items traded here: lead, aluminum, copper, nickel, zinc and tin. Quotes are generated for rare earth metals and elements of strategic importance, such as vanadium, cobalt, selenium, cadmium, silicon and chromium. We also install fixings for precious metals: platinum, gold and silver.

The “London fixing” of the price of gold is formed by five main exchange players. Since 1919, two trading sessions have been held every day - at 10.00 GMT (13.30 Moscow time) and at 15.00 GMT (18.00 Moscow time). In most countries around the world, the price of gold is set on the basis of this fixing.

Commodity Exchange in New York

This futures company merged with the COMEX exchange in 1994. It is also included in the Chicago Board of Trade. Currently, its activities are carried out by two of its divisions - COMEX and NYMEX. The first of them deals with gold. Price is measured in US dollars per ounce.

The average person will only be interested in the quotes generated on these two largest trading platforms as food for thought.

The purchase and sale of precious metals in Russia is carried out at a price determined by the country's leading banking organizations, guided by the discount price of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

By the way.

A troy ounce corresponds to the weight of metal 31.1034807 in grams. With mathematical rounding, we get 31.103 grams. This measure was used back in Ancient Rome. Then a heavy copper coin weighing 1 pound was divided into 12 parts - ounces. Later, the “ounce of avoir du pois” (from the French avoir du pois) appeared, which was already equal to 1/16 of a pound. But a troy ounce continued to equal 1/12 of a pound. The definition of “Troy” comes from the name of the city of Troyes in France, where fairs were held in the Middle Ages. Traders from all over the world came here in the 13th century, and the standards adopted here enjoyed unquestioned authority.

Central Bank of the Russian Federation

In Russia, it is the Central Bank that sets discount prices for gold and other precious metals. It also provides the latest data on interbank lending conditions, exchange rates and refinancing rates. The unit of measurement for the value of gold here is rubles per 1 gram. The Central Bank sets prices daily based on the dollar rate, London fixing and information from the world's leading trading platforms. The cost of gold per 1 gram also takes into account the costs of transportation, customs clearance, etc. The validity period of each announced price is one day.

What is fixing, refined metals and why are prices called discount prices?

If the cost of materials is variable, then accountants and banks apply so-called accounting prices to them. The discount price of the precious metal is valid for a calendar day from the moment of its announcement until new values ​​are formed.

Refined precious metals

This is the name of a precious metal (gold, platinum, palladium and some others) that has gone through all stages of processing from mining, enrichment and smelting of ore or processing of secondary materials and concentrates to the final product. There is a regulatory framework regulating the varieties, labeling and composition of refined metals. Thus, a gold nugget of considerable value is not considered refined. To do this, it must turn into a measured ingot, on which the sample and weight are indicated.

Sberbank of Russia

You can view gold quotes online on the Sberbank Internet resource. It shows the variability of dynamics over the past few years, and also contains an archive of price fluctuations.

Being the largest Russian participant in the gold market, Sberbank maintains branches in almost every locality of the country. At the same time, this financial organization is ready to offer various ways of investing in precious metals:

1. Investments in gold and silver coins.
2. Ingots of precious metals.
3. Opening a compulsory medical insurance (an impersonal metal account).

Since the quotes (discount prices) determined by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation are advisory in nature, the price level in the Russian Sberbank may differ from them. Here, the price of gold is formed taking into account the internal market demand for precious metals in the country, the exchange rate of the ruble against the US dollar, discount prices of the Central Bank and data from international trading platforms that deal with gold.

It is worth remembering that Sberbank of Russia is a branched and structured organization with many branches that independently set their prices. Therefore, one gram of gold somewhere in the Far East can differ significantly in value from the same one gram in Moscow.

The level of spread at bank branches may also vary. This refers to the difference between the optimal acquisition cost and the selling price at the same point in time. In various branches of Sberbank, the spread value fluctuates in the range of 7-15% of the metal price.

What is the spread in private companies that sell investment and commemorative coins?

When compared to commercial banking institutions, our company as a coin dealer, and some other similar private companies, tend to offer lower spreads on the purchase and sale of coins.

Yandex

One of the most convenient tools for monitoring the cost of securities and raw materials, stock quotes and exchange rates is offered by the domestic search engine Yandex. Sometimes there is not enough time to visit special Internet resources to get acquainted with current gold prices. The rhythm of modern life simply does not leave us with it. But, since work and entertainment today are, in one way or another, connected to the Internet, accessing Yandex will not be difficult. And here there is a whole section related to quotes, where you can observe the annual, quarterly, monthly or weekly variability of the price of gold. There is also archival data for the time period 1996-2019.

Gold trading strategies for MT4

• News trading. As already indicated, news has a really strong impact on the movement of gold quotes. That is why news trading is the easiest and at the same time effective way to make money on precious metals on Forex. Any events that worsen the overall global economic background can significantly push the price of XAU/USD up.

• The correlation strategy is one of the simplest, since you do not need to have deep knowledge of the market and knowledge of various analyses, observation is enough. The essence of the strategy is to detect patterns in price movements for certain trading instruments. In order to find out which currency gold has what correlation, you can use a special tool in the NPBFX Analytical Portal - the correlation coefficient calculator.

• Goldmine strategy for XAU/USD. To use the strategy, you need a chart with a D1 time frame, on which the Bollinger Bands indicator with a period of 20 and Stochastic with the following parameters are installed: K Period 5, D Period 3, Slowing 3. Take profit is set at the level of the central Bollinger line, at which it is located at opening a position.

1. For a sell transaction, the following conditions must be met: the price reaches the upper Bollinger line, a bearish candlestick is clearly visible on the chart. At the same time, the Stochastic lines are directed downward and are located in the overbought zone.
2. For a buy transaction, the opposite is true: the price is in the area of ​​the lower line, and a “bullish” candle is clearly visible on the chart, while the Stochastic is in the oversold zone, its lines are directed upward.

In general, there are no restrictions on the choice of assistant indicators for trading gold. The only important point is that the indicators should not lag. Therefore, gold traders most often use modified versions of Stochastic and MACD, and Fibonacci levels are also often used to correctly set stop loss and take profit.

Russian realities

The announcement of gold quotations by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is carried out every day, exactly at 14:30 Moscow time. The data is published on the pages of the official Internet resource of the Central Bank and is duplicated by all federal information agencies. These set prices are measured in rubles and include the costs of transporting the precious metal, clearing customs and other things.

The Central Bank is not obliged to purchase or sell gold according to the generated quotes, so they are a kind of convention. Other banks take them as a starting point and set their own prices. Thus, Sberbank in its quotes takes into account the current Russian demand for precious metals, the inflation rate and data from leading international exchanges.

Gold on Forex: trading on MT4

For broker NPBFX, gold confidently ranks first in the ranking of trading volumes among precious metals on Forex. Professionals note that XAU/USD has the ideal set of characteristics for profitable trading, combining liquidity, predictability and volatility. The most popular MetaTrader 4 platform and favorable NPBFX conditions make gold trading even more comfortable.

Advantages of trading gold with NPBFX broker:

• Transactions are concluded with instant speed and automatically.
• Margin trading with leverage up to 1:1000.
• Low spreads.
• Working according to the STP/NDD model guarantees withdrawal to the interbank market.
• The transaction execution method is Instant Execution, this allows you to set the maximum deviation from the requested price.
• No requotes or rejections.
• There are no restrictions on trading methods and strategies; the use of advisors and robots is acceptable.
• Gold is an easily predictable asset, which means that trading the precious metal is suitable for both beginners and professionals. NPBFX offers a variety of training options.

How to apply gold buy and sell quotes?

If you need to buy or sell metallic gold or open a compulsory medical insurance, then first it is advisable to at least get a little insight into today’s quotes from Russian banks operating precious metals. The leading one among them is Sberbank of Russia. Visit its official website and get the necessary data about the price of gold. There are a number of other Internet resources that publish online forecasts of price dynamics and quotes for precious metals.

By the way.

On our website it is possible to track quotes for gold, silver, platinum, as well as exchange rates, literally in real time. Also in the catalog of coins next to the price you can see such an indicator as the premium to the exchange. We will tell you in more detail why this indicator is needed and what benefits an investor can derive from it.

Stock Exchange Premium: What You Need to Know

• The exchange premium shows how much more expensive a particular coin is than the current exchange price of the metal at the moment: For example, the Bank of Russia issues coins, as a rule, at an exchange price of +7%
  (the exchange rate here is the London fixing).
• Therefore, in Russia, as a rule, foreign investment coins weighing 1 troy ounce (~31.1 grams) can be purchased at a stock exchange price of +8%
  and higher.

You can read more about the premium to the exchange price of metal for investment coins here.

Types of markets

Gold markets can be divided into 3 types:

• international;
• internal;
• black.

Next I will talk about each separately.

International

International markets shape the global relationship with the precious metal. Their main task is to build a system that ensures the circulation of gold on world platforms.

There are about 50 such international sites. Among them, for example, London, Dubai, etc.

With the help of the largest exchanges, trade is carried out between organizations from different countries. Deliveries here are always large in volume, and transactions are often carried out with standardized bars weighing 12.5 kg.

Trading on these platforms can be profitable due to the establishment of benefits for customs and tax duties in relation to gold.

Domestic

National or domestic gold markets, as a rule, provide all the necessary conditions for comfortable circulation of gold within one state or several allied countries.

Based on the type of circulation and control, domestic gold markets can be divided into:

• free;
• closed.

Black

Due to aggressive regulation and numerous restrictions in the non-free type of domestic markets, so-called black or shadow markets often arise.

India can be called the most prominent representative of illegal gold trafficking.

Analytics is for the elite?!

Of course not. And if you are interested in investing in gold, then over time you will be able to make your own forecasts, allowing you to understand what to expect from the precious metals market - whether the price will go up or down. Independent analytical conclusions can be drawn only on the basis of economic, political and other knowledge, intuition, and the ability to evaluate vast amounts of diverse information. This requires experience, which comes with time. First, you need to familiarize yourself with the primary characteristics of the gold market and listen to the opinions of experts.

More articles on the topic:

• Is it worth investing in platinum?
• How to sell gold coins and bars correctly
• About investment coins “for dummies”

Transactions with physical gold bars

Who buys real gold in large quantities on the spot market?

1. The main buyers are official representatives of central state banks and enterprises specializing in storing gold and foreign exchange reserves. For example, the largest investor in 2021 was the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which purchased 271.3 tons of precious metal. The second place in terms of purchase volumes remained with Turkey, the third – with Kazakhstan.
2. The next active acquirers are leading commercial banks that invest paper and electronic money in physical gold, viewing this value as a universal, ultra-reliable asset.
3. In third place are large private speculators and hedge funds, who make good money even on slight differences in rates when dealing with large lots.

The “gold segment” of the global financial market is under the close attention and control of the World Gold Council, which is engaged in analytics and information regulation of this market niche.