Gold (GC=F) December futures opened at $4,483.20 per troy ounce on Monday, August 31, 2026, down 1.0% from Friday's closing price. As of 8:22 a.m. ET, the price had recovered somewhat to $4,507.20 per troy ounce.

Renewed military conflict in the Middle East and growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon raise rates are weighing on precious metals prices. Higher rate expectations tend to pressure gold because the metal pays no interest, raising the opportunity cost of holding it compared with yield-bearing assets — a dynamic that can outweigh gold's traditional appeal as a haven during geopolitical uncertainty.

More than a month has passed since the U.S. last took military action against Iran, but the U.S. attacks on Iranian rocket launchers marked the first escalation since July. The development fueled higher oil prices (BZ=F) and inflation concerns, pushing gold prices lower. The pullback comes after a sharp run-up: gold's one-year gain stood at 95.6% on Jan. 29, meaning Monday's decline follows an extended rally, and weekly moves of a few percent have been common during that period.

On Friday, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech at the Fed's Jackson Hole summit offered little forward guidance, as expected, but reiterated the central bank's close focus on its mandate to keep prices low. Jackson Hole, the Fed's annual economic policy symposium in Wyoming, is closely watched by markets for signals about the direction of monetary policy, making Warsh's emphasis on price stability a key reference point for rate expectations heading into coming Fed meetings.

Current price of gold

The opening price of gold futures on Monday, August 31, 2026, was down 1% from Friday's close. Here is how the opening gold price compares with last week, last month, and last year:

• One week ago: -3.3%
• One month ago: +9.3%
• One year ago: +30.6%

For context, gold's one-year gain stood at 95.6% on Jan. 29.

Gold prices can be monitored around the clock on Yahoo Finance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Investors can also explore top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener, which supports custom screeners with more than 150 criteria.

Gold prices explained

The price of gold can be quoted in multiple forms because the precious metal is traded in different ways. The two main gold prices investors should know are spot prices and futures prices.

The spot price

The spot price of gold is the current market price per ounce for physical gold as a raw material, sometimes called spot gold. Gold ETFs backed by physical gold assets generally track the gold spot price.

The spot price is lower than what consumers pay for gold coins, bullion, or jewelry, because the retail total includes a markup known as the gold premium, covering refining, marketing, dealer overhead, and profits. In effect, the spot price functions like a wholesale price, and the spot price plus the gold premium makes up the retail price.

Gold futures

Gold futures are contracts that mandate a gold transaction at a specific price on a future date. These contracts are exchange-traded and more liquid than physical gold. They settle on or before the contract expiration date, either financially or via delivery. A financial cash settlement involves paying the contract's profit or loss in cash, while delivery means the seller sends physical gold to the buyer at the contracted price.

Factors that affect gold prices

Supply and demand determine both gold spot prices and gold futures prices. Factors that influence gold supply and demand include:

• Geopolitical events
• Central bank buying trends
• Inflation
• Interest rates
• Mining production

Gold forecast and tracker: Where will prices land in 2026?

For further reading, Yahoo Finance offers live gold prices, expert predictions about gold performance, and analysis of whether gold could reach $6,000, including the boldest predictions for how the metal may perform. Related guides cover who decides what gold is worth and how prices are determined, whether prices could hit $6,000 in 2026, and how much gold $1 million would have bought at different points in history — for example, $1 million in 1900 could have purchased 53,000 ounces of gold, an amount worth $278 million today. Additional resources explain six ways to invest in gold, from simple buys to more complex bets, and how to invest in gold in seven steps, weighing gold's strengths, historical behavior, and the pros and cons of physical gold versus mining stocks and ETFs. What to watch next includes further U.S.–Iran developments, subsequent oil price moves, and coming Fed communication on the rate path — all factors the article identifies as direct drivers of gold supply and demand.

Source: Yahoo Finance