- Three spread types: exchange bid/ask (hundredths of a percent), dealer buy/sell spread (single digits to tens of percent), and cross-market price skew.
- A price gap between markets is not arbitrage: fees, FX conversion, transfer, taxes and execution time usually consume it entirely.
- World Gold labels every computed skew 'unverified' until direct local bid/ask quotes exist — honesty over false signals.
Three kinds of spreads
Exchange bid/ask — the gap between the best buy and sell quotes in the order book. On liquid venues (COMEX, major tokenized-gold pairs) it is hundredths of a percent; the PAXG stream on our home page shows one live.
Dealer spread — the difference between the price a bank or dealer sells you metal at and their buy-back price. Single percent on bars, tens of percent on jewellery — and it is what actually defines your return (see ways to buy gold).
Cross-market skew — the same metal priced differently across venues and countries: London versus Shanghai, an Istanbul premium versus the global quote. This is what people usually call “arbitrage” — mostly incorrectly.
Live parity spreads right now
| Market | Currency | Deviation from the global price |
|---|---|---|
| Мумбаи | INR | -0.000% |
| Токио | JPY | -0.000% |
| Гонконг | HKD | -0.000% |
| Астана | KZT | -0.000% |
| Сидней | AUD | -0.000% |
| Мехико | MXN | -0.000% |
Computed as the local price (spot × official FX) normalised back to USD versus the global per-gram price. Near-zero values are normal: currency conversion creates no opportunity. The full 20-market table lives in Prices & opportunities.
Why a price gap is not arbitrage
Turning a gap into profit means buying in one market and selling in another. Along the way you pay: two venues' fees, both bid/ask spreads, currency conversion, money transfer or physical delivery (with insurance and customs), possibly taxes — and you carry price risk during execution. These costs typically total 0.5–1% on digital venues and several percent on physical routes, more than almost any observed skew.
Persistently large premiums exist where capital or import controls apply (Shanghai, India during high-duty periods). The paradox: the restriction that creates such a premium is exactly what prevents closing it.
How we handle it
World Gold deliberately refuses to call FX conversion arbitrage: every market in the Prices & opportunities table carries an “unverified” status and a null verified premium until direct local bid/ask feeds are connected. Once verified local quotes exist, signals will be computed net of all costs — the “Net, not gross” principle of our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Does gold arbitrage exist for retail investors?
Almost never. A visible price gap between markets usually disappears after exchange and broker fees, currency conversion, money or metal transfer costs, taxes and execution time. Persistent premiums do exist in markets with capital controls (Shanghai historically), but the very restrictions that create them prevent arbitraging them.
What is a parity spread on World Gold?
The gap between a local computed price (global spot × official FX rate) normalised back to USD and the global per-gram price. It measures FX-conversion skew, not an executable opportunity — which is why every market carries an 'unverified' status until direct local bid/ask feeds are connected.
Which spread matters most in practice?
For private transactions — your dealer's or bank's buy/sell spread (the gap between their sell price and buy-back price). It is many times wider than exchange bid/ask and defines the real break-even point of your position.
More guides
Updated: 2026-07-19. This material is informational and not investment advice — see the disclaimer. Data provenance is described in the methodology.