Guides
Bullion Spot Pricing: LBMA Auction Times and Price Layers
Bullion spot pricing explained: what the LBMA benchmark covers, when each auction runs, the layers between benchmark and invoice, and US tax reporting.
What to take away
- The LBMA benchmarks describe unallocated metal delivered in London, not your order.
- Each metal has its own auction times, set by the London clock.
- No LBMA price is published on weekends or UK bank holidays.
- A dealer's "spot" is an LBMA price only if the dealer says which feed it uses.
- Having no Form 1099-B does not mean having no tax.
What the LBMA benchmark covers
The LBMA benchmarks are wholesale references for unallocated metal delivered in London. They are not a retail price for a coin or bar sent to your door. The LBMA page on precious-metal benchmark prices states this for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, and lists the auction schedules.
A one-ounce coin shipped to you is a different product in a different transaction. The benchmark says nothing about its premium, its packaging or the cost of getting it to you. For that, read the product specification first, and treat the benchmark only as the metal reference behind the quote.
When each LBMA price is set
ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) runs the auctions at fixed London times. Gold has two a day, silver has one, platinum has two, and palladium follows the platinum auctions. Each price is tied to a London clock, not to the time on your wall.
- LBMA Gold Pricetwice daily, starting at 10:30 and 15:00 London time
- LBMA Silver Priceonce daily, starting at 12:00 noon London time
- LBMA Platinum Pricetwice daily, starting at 9:45 and 14:00 London time
- LBMA Palladium Pricetwice daily, starting when the platinum auctions conclude
The prices are not published on weekends or UK bank holidays. A "spot" figure shown on one of those days therefore comes from somewhere other than a fresh LBMA auction. Sterling and euro prices are indicative prices for settlement only, so label them as indicative if you record one.
Checking a dealer's spot figure
A dealer's "spot" is the LBMA price only if the dealer says so. A figure on a dealer's website at 8 p.m. New York time is not an LBMA price, because no auction runs then. Ask which feed the dealer uses and when the figure was taken.
That question also exposes frozen numbers. A figure left on a checkout page may be older than the quote you think you are acting on, and the guide to stale spot feeds and fees shows what that looks like in practice. Keep the feed name and the timestamp beside every quote you save.
Before you rely on any reference figure, note these four items:
- The metal and the price unit
- The provider and the currency
- The timestamp, the time zone and any publication delay
- The delivery basis, such as unallocated metal in London
The layers between benchmark and invoice
Seven layers sit between the benchmark and the amount you pay or receive. Only the first is a market reference. The rest are costs, taxes or demand, so naming each layer tells you which question to put to the dealer.
| Layer | What it covers | Question for the dealer |
|---|---|---|
| Benchmark or spot | Defined wholesale reference | Which feed, taken when? |
| Fabrication premium | Cost tied to making the format | What does this format add? |
| Distribution and dealer margin | Supply-chain and business cost | Is this margin fixed or a percentage? |
| Payment and fulfillment | Method, shipping, insurance | Which charges are on the invoice? |
| Tax | Jurisdiction and transaction facts | Is tax charged on this order? |
| Product premium | Recognition, scarcity, collector demand | Why is this item priced above similar ones? |
| Exit deduction | Buyer margin, test, condition, sale cost | What would you bid for it back? |
How a margin is quoted, as a fixed amount or a percentage, is covered in fixed and percentage premiums. Once you hold two quotes built on the same layers, the gold quote comparison method puts them side by side.
Markup and markdown on the same spread
The SEC fees and expenses bulletin describes a markup as what a dealer takes by selling from its own inventory above the market price. A markdown is what the dealer takes by buying from you below that price.
A bullion dealer's ask and bid work the same way, so the purchase premium and the buyback discount are two halves of one charge. That bulletin covers securities, so borrow the mechanism and not the regulatory protection it describes. For metals priced off the same benchmark, the platinum and palladium quote checklist applies it.
What the benchmark means for US tax and reporting
The benchmark does not decide your tax. On a sale at a gain, IRS Topic 409 says net capital gains from selling collectibles, such as coins or art, are taxed at their own maximum rate. Check with a tax adviser whether your product counts as a collectible.
Reporting is narrow. Under the IRS instructions for Form 1099-B, a sale of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium in a form for which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has not approved trading by regulated futures contract is not reportable. Even for an approved form, a sale below the minimum quantity needed to satisfy such a contract is not reportable.
A broker selling a single gold coin, for example, does not need to file Form 1099-B. Sales for one customer within 24 hours are added together to apply this exception. No 1099-B does not mean no tax. What dealers file and sellers report is set out in the Form 1099-B reporting rules.
Common questions
Is an LBMA price published every day?
No. The prices are not published on weekends or UK bank holidays, so a dealer's figure on those days comes from another source. Ask the dealer which one, and record the time it was taken.
Which metals have two auctions a day?
Gold, platinum and palladium each have two. Silver has one, at 12:00 noon London time. The palladium auctions start when the platinum auctions conclude.
Are sterling and euro prices firm quotes?
They are indicative prices for settlement only. Record them as indicative, and do not treat them as an offer to buy or sell metal at that figure.
Does the benchmark equal what I will pay at checkout?
No. It describes wholesale London metal, not your order. Your delivered cost adds premium, payment, shipping and tax, and the all-in price and break-even calculation shows how to total them.
In this guide
- How to calculate an all-in bullion price and break-even levelCalculating an all-in bullion price means adding premiums, storage fees, and assay costs, then finding the resale price that returns your money.
- Fixed premiums, percentage premiums, and dealer spreads comparedFixed premiums, percentage premiums, and dealer spreads compared through formulas, changing spot prices, product size, fees, bids, break-even effects, and use cases.
- Bullion quote and invoice checklist: fields to verify before payingA pre-payment bullion checklist of quote and invoice fields to confirm, recalculate, and save, plus receipt checks and substitution, buyback, and dispute notes.
- Bullion pricing problems: stale spot feeds, hidden fees and misleading discountsBullion pricing problems, from stale spot feeds to hidden fees and misleading discounts, and the comparison basis that exposes each one before you pay.
- Comparing three silver bullion quotes: a worked caseSilver quote case comparing three fictional dealers through product identity, quantity tier, payment, shipping, delivered premium, buyback, net exit, and records.
