Gold eases towards £3,250 an ounce as hot US inflation data lifts Fed rate-hike bets

Gold is trading close to £3,250 a troy ounce, easing back from the week's highs after stronger than expected US inflation figures. Producer prices in the United States came in hotter than forecast, lifting expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its meeting later this month. In dollar terms gold slipped to around $4,350 an ounce. Higher rates tend to weigh on gold because the metal pays no interest, so cash and bonds look relatively more attractive when rates climb.

Silver has held up better, trading around £51.69 an ounce, up on the day and roughly 20% higher than a month ago. That puts the gold to silver ratio, the number of ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold, at about 63, a level that has broadly favoured silver through 2026.

For UK buyers, the headline spot price is only the starting point. The all-in cost of a physical coin or bar is spot plus the dealer's premium plus any delivery, and premiums across the dealers we track currently range from about 1% to just under 5%. At £3,250 an ounce, gold works out near £104 a gram before those costs are added. This is market information, not financial advice.