By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 6 August 2026
Three clocks, running at three speeds
People ask how often the scrap gold price changes and expect one answer. There are three, and they answer different questions.
| What it is | How often it moves | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| The wholesale spot market | Near-continuously, roughly 24 hours a day, five days a week | What the trade actually deals at |
| The LBMA Gold Price benchmark | Twice a day, 10:30 and 15:00 London time | A settlement and reference price the whole industry can point at |
| A UK buyer rate published on a page | When the buyer reviews it, which should be stated | An indicative guide so you can estimate before you post |
Almost every complaint about a quote changing traces back to reading one of these as if it were another.
The wholesale market: near-continuous
Gold has no single exchange. It trades over the counter between banks, refiners, dealers and funds, in overlapping sessions that run from Sunday evening through to Friday evening UK time, with a short daily pause of around an hour. For practical purposes the price is moving whenever the world is awake, which is nearly all the time.
That means there is no such thing as today’s gold price in the singular. There is a price at a moment. A figure quoted at breakfast and a figure quoted at teatime on the same day are both accurate and can differ.
The LBMA benchmark: twice a day, by auction
The reference figure the trade settles against is the LBMA Gold Price, set twice each London business day at 10:30 and 15:00 and administered independently by ICE Benchmark Administration. It is not a survey or an opinion. It is a live electronic auction: a chairperson sets a starting price, participants enter buy and sell volumes in ounces, and the rounds continue until buying and selling interest match within a tolerance, an imbalance of up to 10,000 ounces, which is then shared among the direct participants.
The benchmark is published in US dollars per troy ounce. Sterling and euro figures are published as indicative, for settlement purposes. That distinction matters more to a UK seller than it sounds, and it is the subject of the next section.
The sterling problem: two moving parts, not one
Gold is quoted internationally in dollars. What you are paid is in pounds. So the figure a UK seller receives depends on two independent variables: the dollar gold price and the GBP/USD exchange rate.
The consequence catches people out regularly. Gold can be flat in dollars all week while the sterling figure rises, purely because the pound weakened. It can also fall in dollars while rising in pounds, or the reverse. Reading a headline about the gold price hitting a record and assuming it applies to a UK scrap rate is a common and expensive mistake, because headlines are almost always dollar-denominated.
Why a buyer rate on a web page is not live
A per-gram rate that genuinely updated every second would be unusable. You could not compare it, screenshot it or plan around it, and by the time you had weighed your items it would have changed. So responsible buyers publish an indicative rate with the date it was last reviewed, and set the firm figure against the market at the moment of valuation.
Our own indicative per-gram rates by carat are published with their review date on the gold calculator and on scrap gold prices UK. They are a guide for estimating, not an offer. Any buyer advertising a live or real-time per-gram scrap rate is describing something the mechanics do not support, because a scrap rate contains a margin that is reviewed rather than traded.
What actually happens on the day you sell
The published table is not what you are paid against. On arrival, each item is assayed and weighed, the carats are separated, and the offer is calculated against the market at the point of valuation. The rate used appears on the written offer, so you can check it against public data for that day rather than taking it on trust.
That is also why an indicative figure given from a photograph a fortnight earlier is not a promise. It was accurate for the market that day and for the purity we guessed at. Both can change. What does not change is the method, which is set out in spot price vs scrap price explained.
How long an offer stays open
An offer held open is a buyer taking price risk on your behalf, so the window is finite. Ours typically holds for around 14 days at the original rate, with a refreshed rate calculation after that. If the market has moved in your favour in the meantime, ask for the recalculation rather than accepting the old figure.
A buyer who holds a figure open indefinitely has either priced in a wide buffer or intends to revise it. Neither is what it appears to be.
Should you wait for a better day?
The honest answer is that nobody can tell you. Gold moves in both directions and timing it is a separate skill from clearing a drawer of jewellery you no longer wear. Professional traders with live data and hedging tools get it wrong routinely.
What can be said usefully is narrower. Over a few days the movement on a typical household parcel is usually small relative to the difference between an itemised offer and a blended one, so choosing the right method of sale generally matters more than choosing the right week. That is covered in why gold recycling prices differ between buyers. This is general information about how pricing works, not advice on whether or when to sell.
Common questions
How often is the LBMA Gold Price set?
Twice on each London business day, at 10:30 and 15:00 UK time, by electronic auction administered by ICE Benchmark Administration. It is published in US dollars per troy ounce, with sterling and euro figures indicative.
Does the gold price change at weekends?
The over-the-counter market is closed from Friday evening to Sunday evening UK time, so the quoted price does not move. News over a weekend can produce a gap when trading resumes.
Why did my quote change between two visits?
Either the market moved, sterling moved, or both. A quote is a snapshot of a moment, which is why written offers carry the rate used and a stated expiry.
Can the pound alone change what I am paid?
Yes. Gold is priced in dollars internationally. If sterling weakens and the dollar gold price is unchanged, the pound figure rises, and the reverse also holds.
Is there such a thing as a live scrap gold rate?
Not meaningfully. A scrap rate includes a buyer margin that is reviewed rather than traded tick by tick. Indicative and dated is the honest description.
How often does GoldPaid review its published rates?
Periodically, against the live market, and the review date is printed alongside the table. The rates on this site were last reviewed on 4 August 2026.
Does the rate change while my parcel is in the post?
The market does. Your offer is calculated against the market at the point of valuation on arrival, and the rate used is shown on the written offer.
If I decline, can I come back later at a new rate?
Yes. Items are returned free and tracked, and a fresh valuation can be done later against the market on that day. There is no penalty and no pressure to decide inside any window.