London GoldCOMEX gold and COMEX gold both reflect changes in the international gold market, so prices are usually highly correlated, but they are not the same market product. London gold mainly corresponds to the London over-the-counter gold market system, while COMEX gold belongs to standardized gold futures, with differences in trading structure, contract term, and settlement rules, so the two prices do not need to be exactly the same at every point in time.
The biggest difference: one is a spot based system, and the other is standardized futuresThe Loco London gold market introduced by LBMA belongs to the over-the-counter market.
Market participants can engage in bilateral transactions based on transaction quantity, settlement date, and other conditions, making the entire system highly flexible.COMEX gold is different.
The gold futures rules announced by CME Group have clear arrangements for contract specifications, settlement standards, and contract months. Taking standard gold futures as an example, one contract corresponds to 100 troy ounces of gold.This is also why users cannot see that the prices on both sides are close and interpret them as completely identical products.
Why are London gold and New York gold prices usually very closeAlthough the product structures are different, they are priced together around gold, a globally traded asset.
When new macro information emerges in the international market, the London market, New York futures market, and other major markets typically quickly reprice their prices.Trading institutions will continue to observe price relationships between different markets.
Therefore, in the long run and overall direction, London gold and COMEX gold usually do not completely separate.But 'trend related' does not mean 'price numbers must be the same'.
Why futures prices may be higher or lower than spot pricesFutures contracts include time factors.
How long until the settlement time, market interest rates, holding costs, and current supply and demand conditions may all cause a certain difference between futures prices and spot prices.Therefore, when users simultaneously open the London gold and COMEX gold quotes and find a difference of a few dollars between the two prices, it cannot be judged solely based on this point that one of the quotes has a problem.
Firstly, it should be confirmed that:Are the products the same
Is the contract month the sameIs the quotation time consistent
Is the unit consistentWhich one should be focused on when looking at the gold market
It depends on what the user wants to study.If you are interested in the real-time changes of international spot gold, you can focus on observing London gold or XAU/USD.
If we study the holdings, trades, and contracts of different months in the US gold futures market, COMEX gold data is more valuable.The two can also be observed interchangeably.
For example, when London gold and COMEX gold change rapidly at the same time, it often indicates that the international market is jointly re pricing; If the short-term price difference widens, further observation of the futures term structure, trading hours, and liquidity situation is needed.Wmax · 威马证券: Do not directly understand "different prices" as "different gold prices"
Gold does not have a unique number that is identical in all markets, products, and at all times.The core assets of London gold and COMEX gold are both gold, but their trading methods are not the same.
The truly valuable way to compare is to first identify the product and then compare the price changes at the same time, rather than just taking two numbers to judge high or low.因此，当用户同时打开伦敦金和COMEX黄金行情时，发现两个价格相差几美元，并不能仅凭这一点判断其中一个报价存在问题。
首先应该确认：
产品是不是相同
合约月份是否相同
报价时间是否一致
单位是否一致
看黄金行情应该重点看哪一个
这取决于用户想研究什么。
如果关注国际现货黄金即时变化，可以重点观察伦敦金或XAU/USD。
如果研究美国黄金期货市场的持仓、成交以及不同月份合约，则COMEX黄金数据更有价值。
两者还可以交叉观察。
例如，当伦敦金和COMEX黄金同时快速变化，往往说明国际市场正在共同重新定价；如果短时间价差扩大，则需要进一步观察期货期限结构、交易时段和流动情况。
Wmax · 威马证券：不要把“不同价格”直接理解成“不同金价”
黄金没有一个在所有市场、所有产品、所有时点都完全相同的唯一数字。
伦敦金与COMEX黄金的核心资产都是黄金，但交易方式并不相同。
真正有价值的比较方式，是先明确产品，再比较同一时间的价格变化，而不是只截取两个数字判断高低。