Spot Price

The spot price represents what a buyer pays — and a seller receives — right now, with settlement typically happening within one or two business days. It is the most straightforward price in any market: no waiting, no agreements about future delivery, just the asset changing hands at today's rate. When you see a gold price or a currency rate displayed on a live data page like /commodities or /currencies, that figure is almost always the spot price.

Spot prices matter because they anchor everything else. Futures contracts, options, and other derivatives all price themselves in relation to the spot. Suppose a barrel of crude oil has a spot price of $80 (hypothetical example). A futures contract for delivery three months from now might trade above or below that $80 depending on storage costs, supply expectations, and interest rates — a relationship explained in detail in the spot vs. futures prices guide.

A common confusion is treating "spot" and "market price" as interchangeable in every context. For most commodities, spot refers specifically to physical delivery at a standard location or grade. Gold spot, for instance, is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce for unallocated bullion settled in London — the unit and location are part of the definition, not just background detail. See commodity units and contracts for more on how those conventions work.