Methodology and data sources
This page explains where the displayed values come from, how Gold Update processes them and what their limitations are. All values are provided for information only. Last updated: 17 September 2026.
Published by: Nicolas Schröder · Page version:
Current gold prices
Gold Update retrieves XAU/USD from Gold API on the server. EUR and every other displayed currency are calculated from the same USD value and ECB reference rates obtained server-side through Frankfurter. The regular retrieval interval is ten minutes. The visitor’s browser connects neither to Gold API nor to Frankfurter. The values are indicative references, not real-time quotes or tradable bids or offers.
Storage and plausibility checks
Each valid current value is stored in a ten-minute UTC interval in Gold Update’s Cloudflare database. Repeated retrievals update the same interval and do not create duplicates. Deviations exceeding the configured threshold are marked and are not returned as the latest plausible value. Ten-minute raw values are currently deleted after 90 days; hourly and daily aggregates and imported daily values remain stored for the displayed series.
Historical data
USD history is available from January 1985; the large retrospective import is complete. Newly available days are added within bounded updates. For each date, daily averages of our ten-minute observations take precedence, followed by imported Gold API daily averages and then stored World Bank monthly averages. A monthly average is not a quote for an individual trading day. MAX displays evenly spaced existing observations without inventing intermediate values. Public views read stored data and do not start historical imports.
Currencies and data gaps
USD history reaches back to January 1985. EUR begins on 4 January 1999 because the historical ECB exchange rates used here start then. Other currencies begin with their respective available exchange-rate series. Historical conversions use the reference rate available for that date, never today’s rate retrospectively. On weekends and public holidays, a rate no more than seven days old may be carried forward; without it, the point is omitted. MAX on the home page is fixed to USD. The separate historical view and study allow currency changes and show the applicable period. Historical calendar dates retain their original date; current timestamps use the visitor’s time zone. Market closures and data gaps do not create new observations.
Inflation comparison
The gold-versus-inflation calculator retrieves Eurostat’s monthly all-items Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices on the server (dataset prc_hicp_minr, coicop18=TOTAL, unit I25 with 2025=100 under ECOICOP v2). It uses series DE for Germany and EA21 for the euro area. The latest official month and data status are shown. If a refresh fails, only a previously validated cache no more than 45 days old may be shown with a clear delayed-data warning; otherwise an error is returned. Only months with both an official index and a stored gold observation are compared, and missing months are not interpolated. Because official indices are published with a delay, the common chart ends at the latest documented month and shows any newer nominal gold value separately.
Units and calculators
One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams. The calculated metal value is based on fine-gold weight and the stored reference price. Premiums, spreads, inspection, delivery, tax and custody costs are included only where they are shown separately.
Sources and limitations
Long-term source: World Bank Commodity Price Data (The Pink Sheet), monthly nominal gold prices in USD per troy ounce, January 1970 through July 2026, https://www.worldbank.org/en/research/commodity-markets. The World Bank Data Catalog classifies the dataset as public and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Imported daily gold-price source: Gold API; the historical import reaches back to 1985 in USD. Exchange rates: ECB via Frankfurter. Inflation: Eurostat, prc_hicp_minr, coicop18=TOTAL, unit I25 (2025=100). Additional currencies and time series are calculated by Gold Update. All values are indicative. Gold API gives no warranty of accuracy, completeness or availability. Frankfurter permits commercial API use and refers users to the terms of each underlying provider. ECB reference rates are intended for information only and are expressly discouraged for transaction purposes. Gold Update does not publish LBMA benchmark data.