Gold was priced at $4,615 per ounce at 8:55 a.m. Eastern Time, down $15 from the same time yesterday but up $1,243 over the past year. The price was $4,630 yesterday, $4,091 one month ago and $3,372 one year ago, representing changes of -0.32%, +12.81% and +36.86%, respectively. Gold has also risen more than 25% since the beginning of 2025, supported by inflation and economic uncertainty. Investors use gold as a store of value and potential inflation hedge, although stocks historically delivered higher average annual returns from 1971 to 2024: 10.7% versus 7.9% for gold. Exposure can come through physical bullion, coins, jewelry, futures, mutual funds, ETFs or a gold IRA (a retirement account holding approved precious metals). Spot gold is the price for immediate over-the-counter settlement, while contango describes futures prices above spot and backwardation describes futures prices below spot. Gold trading spreads measure the gap between the bid and ask prices; narrower spreads generally indicate greater liquidity. At 8:55 a.m. ET, silver was $68 per ounce, platinum was $1,857 and palladium was $1,339. Gold is generally less volatile than silver, platinum and palladium, though those metals can add portfolio diversification.