Gold prices jumped $65.90 to $4,198.40 per troy ounce as of October 9, 3:07 p.m. ET. This increase marks a strong session for the metal, but it still sits 25.6% below its January peak.
The current price is up from $4,160 per troy ounce as of October 6. Despite this gain, the metal remains well off its all-time high of about $5,590 set on January 28, 2026.
As of 9:05 a.m. Eastern on October 1, gold was priced at $4,177 per ounce, a $36 fall from the prior day but an increase of $313 compared to one year ago. This year-over-year gain indicates the secular bid is intact.
The $313 gain over twelve months is significant for dealers who bought scrap gold over the past year. Their inventory has carried well, and Friday’s $65.90 push only adds to that cushion.
At $4,198, the public is still willing to sell broken chain and odd karat into the shop, but the volume is nothing like the January rush. This steadiness lets a dealer quote a fair melt without worrying the price falls out from under the lot before it reaches the refiner.
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The same stability shows up in how the broader trade is pricing risk this week, from the auction rooms to the polished-diamond grind. Money is still finding the hard-asset trade, just moving with a cooler head than it did at the start of the year.
For a jeweler, the practical read is straightforward: at $4,198.40 per troy ounce, scrap gold still carries real weight on the balance sheet. A $65.90 up-day improves the margin on anything bought earlier in the week.
The 25.6% discount to the January peak is a caution flag, indicating this is not a market at all-time highs. There is room on both sides, and no reason to chase. Hold the inventory you bought cheap, quote conservatively on new scrap, and remember the metal moved $313 in a year.
As the trade rotates toward made pieces and brand, with the raw metal holding a supportive floor underneath, the melt counter should quote the spot price they can see, not the peak they remember. The number to watch is the spread between Friday’s $4,198.40 close and the $5,590 January high.
As long as that 25.6% gap persists, the smart play on the refining desk is patience rather than aggression. Whether gold grinds back toward the peak into year-end or settles into the $4,100 to $4,200 band remains to be seen, and the melt counter will feel the verdict first.
