Spot Gold vs Gold Futures: Why the Prices Differ and Which One Your Broker Quotes

Open a chart of XAUUSD and a chart of COMEX gold futures and you will see two prices that move together but rarely match. A gap of 10 to 40 dollars is common. Nothing is broken. The futures price includes the cost of waiting.

The short answer

A gold futures contract is an agreement to buy gold at a future date. Instead of paying for gold now, the buyer keeps the cash and earns interest on it until delivery. The seller, meanwhile, has to keep holding gold. So the futures price is normally spot plus the cost of carry: roughly the interest you could earn on the money until the contract expires, minus a small lease rate.

Higher interest rates mean a bigger gap. Longer time to expiry means a bigger gap.

Three gold prices, side by side

Which one does your CFD broker quote?

Most brokers offering XAUUSD quote a spot price derived from the over-the-counter market, so their chart tracks spot. Some brokers also offer a "gold futures CFD" that tracks a specific COMEX contract and rolls to the next contract before expiry. Read the contract specification in your platform: it will say whether the instrument is spot or a futures CFD and, for the latter, when it rolls.

If you hold a spot gold CFD overnight, you pay or receive a financing charge (the swap) instead of a futures premium. Economically it is the same cost of carry, collected a day at a time. See how to check swap rates in MT4 and MT5.

Why the gap changes

• Interest rates change. When the market expects higher US rates, the premium on later contracts widens.
• Time passes. As a futures contract approaches expiry, its price converges toward spot.
• Physical squeezes. If gold is scarce in a delivery location (for example, during the 2020 disruption to flights and refineries), futures can trade far above spot for a while.

Why this matters for traders

1. Levels differ. A support level drawn on a futures chart will be 10 to 40 dollars away on a spot chart. Use the chart of the instrument you actually trade.
2. News and analysis may quote either. Many professional reports quote COMEX futures. Our daily brief labels which price it uses.
3. Rolls create jumps. A futures CFD that rolls to the next contract will show a jump in price that is not a market move. Brokers usually adjust positions with a cash credit or debit to compensate.

Questions traders ask

Is spot gold cheaper than futures? The headline price is lower, but holding spot costs a daily swap. Over the same period, the total cost is similar.

Why is my broker's gold price different from Google's? Search engines and news sites often show the front-month COMEX futures price. Your broker shows spot.

Which is better for small traders? For small, short-term positions, spot CFDs are simpler. For US residents, who cannot trade CFDs, micro gold futures (MGC) are the practical route, covered in how US traders can trade gold.