Gold price today, Monday, February 2: Gold slides over 5%

Gold (GC=F) futures opened at $4,490 per troy ounce on Monday, down 5.4% from Friday’s closing price of $4,745.10. Week-over-week, the April futures price is down over 11%.

Despite the current sell-off, the gold price is still up nearly 60% since this time last year.

Stock investors may also be on edge Monday — S&P futures (ES=F) are currently down 0.3%, Dow Jones futures (YM=F) are down 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ=F) are down 0.6%.

Upcoming economic data and earnings reports may clarify uncertainty. With the fourth quarter earnings season ongoing, the U.S. employment report and a preliminary consumer sentiment reading are due on Friday. So far, the S&P 500 is reporting double-digit earnings growth vs. the prior year for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Gold often moves in the opposite direction of stock prices, but that relationship didn’t hold in 2025 when gold and the S&P 500 had double-digit gains.

The opening price of gold futures on Monday fell 5.4% from Friday’s close. Here’s a look at how the opening gold price has changed versus last week, month, and year:

One week ago: -11.6%

One month ago: +3.2%

One year ago: +58.7%

The one-year gain for gold was 95.6% on Jan. 29.

24/7 gold price tracking: Don’t forget you can monitor the current price of gold on Yahoo Finance 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Want to learn more about the current top-performing companies in the gold industry? Explore a list of the top-performing companies in the gold industry using the Yahoo Finance Screener. You can create your own screeners with over 150 different screening criteria.

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 about are spot prices and gold futures prices.

Learn more: How to invest in gold in 4 steps

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 that are backed by physical gold assets generally track the gold spot price.

The spot price is lower than what you’d pay to buy gold coins, bullion, or jewelry, since your total price will include a markup called the gold premium that covers refining, marketing, dealer overhead, and profits. The spot price is more like a wholesale price, and the spot price plus the gold premium is the retail price.

Learn more: Thinking of buying gold? Here’s what investors should watch for.

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 the contract expiration date or earlier, either financially or via delivery. A financial cash settlement involves paying the contract’s profit or loss in cash. Delivery means the seller sends physical gold to the buyer for the contracted price.

Supply and demand determine 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

Learn more: Who decides what gold is worth? How prices are determined.

Whether you’re tracking the price of gold since last month or last year, the price-of-gold chart below shows the precious metal’s steady upward climb in value.

Learn more: Gold alternatives? How to invest in silver, platinum, and palladium.