Gold holds steady near $4,340 per troy ounce in Friday trading

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Gold prices hover around $4,340 per troy ounce on Friday.

On Friday, the precious metals market saw the following movements:

- Gold (XAU/USD) gained 0.6%, trading at $430 per ounce (31.1 grams).

- Platinum (XPT/USD) rose by 1.2%, trading at $1,800 per ounce (31.1 grams).

The major trading hubs for precious metals are concentrated in the London Over-the-Counter (OTC) market (LBMA), the U.S. futures market (COMEX), and the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE).

These three centers account for over 90% of global trading volume:

1. The OTC market, where the bulk of physical metal exchanges occur through major banks and dealers, setting benchmark prices (fixing) - LBMA (London);

2. The primary futures and options trading platform for precious metals, setting U.S. benchmark prices - COMEX (New York);

3. The key Asian hub, which is growing and offers physical gold trading, influencing Asian supply and demand, particularly in the context of China - SGE (Shanghai).

The gold market exhibits high liquidity:

- Futures trading generates an average daily turnover of around $50-70 billion;

- The OTC segment shows even larger volumes, with approximately $60-80 billion traded daily.

This analysis was provided by Alexey Grishchenko, Ph.D., Professor at the Department of Operational and Sectoral Management of the Higher School of Management at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.