Gold Price Today, October 12, 2026: Gold Slips to $4,172 as Strong Dollar Weighs

Gold fell $23.12 (-0.55%) to $4,171.82 an ounce on Monday, down from a $4,194.94 close. The metal swung between $4,153.80 and $4,218.10, so it briefly rallied before sellers took over. Gold is down 5.18% over the past month and 4.16% year to date. It sits well below its 52-week high of $5,405.

Why gold moved

The dollar is doing most of the work. The broad trade-weighted dollar index rose to 121.38 from 120.33 a week earlier, as of its latest reading on October 2. Gold is priced in dollars, so a stronger greenback makes it more expensive for foreign buyers. According to Kitco, gold struggled to hold early gains on Monday as the dollar pushed near its strongest level in well over a year and bond yields stayed elevated.

Rates are the second weight. The 10-year Treasury yield was 5.22%, barely changed from 5.24% a week ago. The 10-year real yield, the inflation-adjusted return on TIPS, was 2.87%. These yields edged slightly lower this week, so the pressure comes from their level, not a new spike. When a government bond pays nearly 3% above inflation, a metal that pays nothing has a harder sell. FXEmpire framed it the same way, describing gold as still fighting rising rates.

Inflation expectations are cooling a little. The 10-year breakeven slipped to 2.33% from 2.36%, which removes some of the inflation-hedge argument. The effective fed funds rate held at 3.88%.

Positioning confirms the mood. CFTC data as of October 6 show money managers' net long in gold futures fell by 9,331 contracts to 110,987. Speculators remain long, just less enthusiastically. According to BullionVault, gold has extended an unusually long losing streak. For more on these drivers, see why gold is moving.

What it means for buyers and sellers

Pure gold is worth $133.99 per gram today. Most American jewelry is lower purity, so check the karat stamp first:

• 18K: $100.60 per gram
• 14K: $78.46 per gram
• 10K: $55.93 per gram

For a typical 14K gold chain or ring, $78.46 per gram is the melt value. Dealers and pawn shops pay below that. Weigh your pieces and run them through the gold calculator before you walk in, so you know what a fair offer looks like. Our guide on how to sell gold covers how to compare quotes.

For coin and bar buyers, a 5% monthly pullback means lower spot prices than a few weeks ago. Dealer premiums are a separate cost and do not always fall with spot, so compare the all-in price, not just the headline number.

Silver fell 0.73% to $60.50 and is down 5.89% over the month. The gold-silver ratio stands at 69, meaning one ounce of gold buys 69 ounces of silver.

What to watch

Wednesday, October 14, 8:30 a.m. ET: CPI. Headline inflation is forecast at 3.6% year over year, up from 3.4%. Core CPI is forecast at 2.5% versus 2.4%. A hot print could lift yields and the dollar further. A soft one could ease both. Investing.com called this week's CPI the data that could decide whether gold's rebound attempt extends or fails.

Thursday, October 15, 8:30 a.m. ET: PPI, retail sales, jobless claims, Philly Fed. PPI is forecast at 0.5% month over month versus 0.4% previously. Retail sales are forecast at 0.3%, down from 1.2%. Jobless claims are forecast at 195K.

Thursday, October 15, 11:30 p.m. ET: Fed Chair Warsh speaks. After two days of inflation data, any signal on the rate path could move gold overnight.

Prices at publication