Gold holds steady near $4,043 per troy ounce in Friday trading

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Gold prices hover around $4,043 per troy ounce on Friday.

On Friday, precious metals markets saw the following:

- Gold (XAU/USD) is down 1%, trading at $4,043 per ounce (31.1 g).

- Platinum (XPT/USD) fell 1.6%, trading at $1,510 per ounce (31.1 g).

Major trading hubs for precious metals are concentrated in the London Over-the-Counter 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 physical metals are primarily exchanged through major banks and dealers, setting benchmark prices (fixing) - LBMA (London);

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

3. The key Asian hub, growing in influence with physical gold trading and impacting 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, averaging about $60-80 billion per day.

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