By Rocco Clayfield, founder of GoldPaid (GOLDPAID LTD) · Published · updated
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Where the price stood on 6 August
On 6 August 2026 the UK gold price was about £3,163.19 per troy ounce, which is £101.70 per gram of fine gold (BullionVault GBP spot, 6 August 2026). BullionByPost quoted £3,169.91 per ounce on the same day and reported a weekly gain of £136.60, or 4.51%, with a week high of £3,197.70 and a week low of £2,990.72.
In dollar terms the same metal was around $4,247 an ounce on 5 August 2026, up more than 4% on the session (FXStreet, 5 August 2026), against $4,060.18 the previous day (USAGOLD daily report, 4 August 2026). Sterling was quoted at $1.3464 on 5 August 2026 (Trading Economics), so most of the GBP move is the metal rather than the currency.
What moved it in the first week of August
One dataset did most of the work. On 5 August 2026 the ADP private payrolls reading for July came in at 44,000 against a forecast of 70,000, down from 98,000 in June, and the ISM services survey printed 54.1 against an expected 54.5 with its employment sub-index falling to 47.4 from 51.2 (FXStreet, 5 August 2026). A weakening US jobs picture shifts expectations towards rate cuts, and lower expected rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding gold, which pays no interest.
The dollar index eased about 0.16% to near 99.70 on the same day, which mechanically lifts the dollar price of gold. Underneath that, the structural bid has not gone away: central banks have continued adding to reserves through 2026, and silver had already been outrunning gold, with the gold-silver ratio tightening to 68.8 on 4 August 2026 (USAGOLD, 4 August 2026). Oil had also fallen towards $78 a barrel from $85 the week before, easing one of the inflation inputs.
How this compares with June, and with the January peak
Our June 2026 update recorded spot at about £3,360 per troy ounce on 2 June. At £3,163 on 6 August, gold is close to 6% below where it stood at the start of June, despite this week’s bounce. The direction over the summer was down; the direction over the past week was sharply up. Both statements are true, and neither is a trend.
The wider context matters more than either. Gold peaked near $5,600 an ounce on 28 January 2026 (CBS News, 27 July 2026, citing SD Bullion), so the market is still well below its January high. At the same time it is materially above where it was a year ago: Fortune put dollar gold at $3,363 in early August 2025 against $4,070 on 4 August 2026, a rise of about 21%. For the decades before this recent record, what gold was worth in 1980, 1990 and 2000 sets out the sterling record with the inflation adjustment done.
What £101.70 a gram actually means for jewellery
Spot is quoted for fine gold. Almost nothing in a jewellery box is fine gold, so the useful number is the metal content of your actual carat. Using the 6 August 2026 figure of £101.70 per gram of fine gold, the pure metal content works out as follows.
| Carat | Fineness | Spot metal content per gram, 6 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 9ct | 375 | £38.14 |
| 14ct | 585 | £59.49 |
| 18ct | 750 | £76.28 |
| 22ct | 916 | £93.16 |
| 24ct | 999 | £101.60 |
Read that column carefully: it is the market value of the gold inside the item on one dated day, not what any buyer pays. Refining, assay, handling and margin sit between spot and a buyer rate, at every reputable buyer, and we set out the arithmetic in spot price versus scrap price. GoldPaid does not publish a public buying rate; your firm offer follows an XRF assay of your specific items.
The UK side: sterling and Bank Rate
Gold is priced globally in dollars, so the sterling price is the dollar price divided by the exchange rate. When the pound firms, the GBP gold price falls even if the metal has not moved. Cable was near $1.3460 to $1.3464 on 5 August 2026 and has been consolidating rather than trending (FXStreet and Trading Economics, 5 August 2026), so this month the metal has been the story rather than the currency.
On the domestic side, the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75% on 30 July 2026, with CPI inflation at 2.6% and the next decision due on 17 September 2026 (Bank of England). A hold keeps sterling roughly where it is and leaves the gold price mostly exposed to US data, which is exactly what the first week of August demonstrated.
What it means if you are selling this month
Two things are honestly true at the same time. Gold in sterling is well below its January 2026 high and a little below June, so anyone who was waiting for the spring level has not got it back. It is also around a fifth higher than a year ago, so a sale in August 2026 clears meaningfully more pounds than the same items would have done in August 2025.
We do not forecast, and we would treat anyone who does with caution. For what it is worth, the published views disagree with each other: one analyst quoted by CBS News on 27 July 2026 put August in a $3,900 to $4,350 range, while MUFG and UBS have described gold as broadly anchored near $4,000 for the rest of 2026. The practical approach is unchanged: get a written, dated figure for your specific items, weigh it against your reason for selling, and decide. Our 2026 market outlook goes through that decision properly.
What we are doing on our side
GoldPaid does not publish a public buying rate. Your firm offer is set after an XRF assay, priced against the live precious-metal market on the day your parcel is examined, with our margin already inside it, so any move in the market between now and your parcel arriving is reflected in the offer, in either direction.
Offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market. Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. If you accept the written valuation, we aim to pay by Faster Payments within one working hour of your acceptance. If you decline, the parcel comes back. The postal process guide walks through it step by step, and how we value gold covers the assay itself.