Gold traded lower on Thursday 29 October 2026, with spot gold at $4,035.28 an ounce by 1121 GMT, down 0.8% on the day, according to Reuters. In sterling terms, the spot price was about £3,019.35 an ounce, or about £97.07 a gram, at 12:30 UTC, while a second UK price tracker put the day's ounce price at £3,022.18, down 0.98% from £3,052.25 the day before. Prices move through the day, so the sterling figure depends on the time of the quote and the pound-dollar rate; retail jewellers and dealers add their own charges on top of spot.

A second monthly fall in prospect

The immediate driver was interest-rate expectations. The US Federal Reserve held rates unchanged on Wednesday 28 October, leaving open the possibility of a rise in December, and traders were pricing in about a 90% chance of such a move, according to the CME FedWatch Tool cited by Reuters. Higher rates raise the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest, and that weighed on the metal.

What this means for UK buyers

Gold was on course for a second straight monthly decline, Reuters reported, with silver, platinum and palladium also lower on the day — silver down 1.9% at $52.93 an ounce, platinum down 2.9% at $1,493.71 and palladium down 1% at $1,000.91. The broader precious-metals complex was therefore moving together, rather than gold falling alone.

For UK readers, the practical point is the difference between spot and shop prices. Spot is the wholesale benchmark set in London twice daily; a coin or bar bought from a dealer costs more, because of fabrication, distribution and dealer margin, while investment-grade bullion bars and coins remain exempt from VAT in the UK.

Sources: Reuters via Kitco, The Gold Price (UK spot tracker).