Gold (GC=F) December futures opened at $4,391.40 per troy ounce on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, down 0.7% from Tuesday's closing price. By 8:53 a.m. ET, the price of gold had risen to $4,479.90 per troy ounce.

Gold opened lower on Wednesday morning, then moved higher in early trading as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields eased slightly. The U.S. Dollar Index (DX-Y.NYB) fell 0.2%, while the benchmark CBOE Interest Rate 10 Year T No (^TNX) declined 0.4%. The 10-year yield remains near its 12-month high, reached on July 31. Because gold is priced in U.S. dollars in markets around the world, the metal often moves in the opposite direction of the currency.

The weaker dollar comes ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee's minutes from its July meeting. Investors will look to the minutes for clues about the Federal Reserve's short-term interest-rate outlook. The minutes, released on the standard three-week lag after the meeting, offer a more detailed record of the policy discussion than the brief statement issued when the meeting concluded. That outlook remains complicated by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which continues to raise inflation risks, as well as recent softness in retail sales.

CME FedWatch estimates a 67.4% probability that the Fed will leave interest rates unchanged at its September meeting. A rate increase tends to pressure gold because it makes yield-bearing assets more attractive by comparison. The reverse is also true. Gold itself pays no income, which is a central reason rate expectations weigh so heavily on its price. Gold has gained more than 10% over the last three weeks as expectations for rate hikes have declined, and traders will be watching whether the minutes shift those September probabilities.

Current price of gold

The opening price of gold futures on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, was down 0.7% from Tuesday's closing price. Here's how the opening gold price compares with one week, one month, and one year ago:

• One week ago: -0.3%
• One month ago: +10.5%
• One year ago: +31.9%

For context, the one-year gain for gold was 95.6% on Jan. 29.

You can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you want to follow top-performing companies in the gold industry, Yahoo Finance offers a screener with more than 150 screening criteria.

Considering a gold alternative?

Yahoo Finance also tracks the daily price of silver (SI=F), bitcoin (BTC-USD), and ethereum (ETH-USD) for readers looking at alternatives to gold.

Ways to invest in gold

There are several ways to invest in gold, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Four common options are physical gold, gold mining stocks, gold ETFs, and gold futures.

Physical gold

Physical gold includes jewelry, gold bars, and gold coins. Some investors prefer it because it is tangible and easy to buy. A gold necklace can be purchased at a mall, and gold bars are sold at Costco (COST).

Physical gold has several advantages. If it is kept at home, it is readily available to use as a medium of exchange in an economic emergency. It also avoids additional volatility and recurring costs. As Brett Elliott, director of content and SEO at American Precious Metals Exchange (APMEX), explained, holding gold yourself means you "eliminate counterparty risk and storage fees or expense ratios." It also avoids the added business volatility tied to gold mining stocks.

The drawbacks are also clear. Physical gold must be secured against theft or loss. Owners can store it at home for free or pay for third-party storage and insurance, but those fees reduce returns. Physical gold is also less liquid than stocks or ETFs, meaning it can be harder to sell quickly. If it is not being used as money, investors must find a dealer and typically pay a markup on the sale.

Gold mining stocks

Gold mining stocks are equity positions in gold miners. They can be volatile because company profits are tied to gold prices, and the businesses are also exposed to "geopolitical risks and management risks," according to Vince Stanzione, CEO and founder of financial publisher First Information. To reduce volatility, many investors prefer diversified gold mining funds rather than individual mining stocks.

Gold mining stocks offer greater liquidity. Large-cap miners such as Barrick Gold Corporation (B) and Franco-Nevada Corporation (FNV) generally have narrow bid-ask spreads, which indicates easier trading. They also require no storage, since the shares sit in a brokerage account.

The disadvantages include higher volatility and no direct utility as a medium of exchange. Thomas Winmill, portfolio manager at Midas Funds, said, "Gold investing through gold mining companies adds another layer of risk." From 2000 to 2020, gold mining stocks moved more sharply than gold spot prices. In recent years, mining stocks have trended lower even as spot gold has advanced.

Gold ETFs

Gold ETFs are funds that track the price of gold. They may hold physical gold, gold mining stocks, gold futures, or a combination of these. The largest gold ETF by total assets is SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), which is backed by physical gold stored in vaults.

Gold ETFs are easy to store because they are digital assets with no physical storage requirements. They are also highly liquid, with heavily traded funds such as SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) often easy to buy and sell. Funds backed by physical gold also track the spot price of gold directly, which is usually less volatile than gold mining stocks or gold mining ETFs.

The downside is fees. For example, SPDR Gold Shares has an expense ratio of 0.40%, equal to $4 in annual fees for every $1,000 invested. As with mining stocks, ETF shares generally do not have practical use as a medium of exchange in an emergency.

Gold futures

Gold futures are standardized contracts to buy gold on a future date at a specific price. The contracts often represent 100 troy ounces. According to Stanzione, gold futures carry "the highest risk and are best left to professional traders."

Their main advantages are leverage and convenience. Investors can control a large amount of gold with relatively little capital, and they do not need to store physical gold to profit from price changes.

The risks are significant. Leverage magnifies both gains and losses, which is especially risky with an unpredictable asset such as gold. Futures contracts are also more complex than other forms of gold investing and may not be suitable for many retail investors.

Price of gold chart

Whether you are tracking the price of gold over the past month or the past year, the chart below shows the precious metal's price movement so far this year.

(GC=F)

More ways to learn about gold investing

• 6 ways to invest in gold from simple buys to more complex bets
• Who decides what gold is worth? How gold prices are determined.
• How to invest in gold in 7 steps
• Gold forecast and tracker: Where will prices land in 2026?
• Gold price outlook: Could prices hit $6,000 in 2026?
• How to invest in gold: A beginner's guide