Gold price today in Colombia

Banco de la República's daily gold price

Colombia's central bank, Banco de la República (BanRep), publishes a daily buy price and sell price per gram of gold, silver and platinum in pesos, and says the LBMA benchmarks are the reference behind them. It also publishes a monthly price per gram that is used to calculate mining royalties. Today the bare international price works out to about 421,398 COP per gram of pure gold and 316,048 COP for 18k.

Selling gold to the central bank

Law 31 of 1992 lets BanRep buy and sell precious metals, and it buys the domestically produced gold offered to it. The gold market itself is free (Law 9 of 1991), so BanRep is one buyer among others. It buys at only three places: its Central de Efectivo in Bogotá, its Medellín branch and its Agencia Cultural in Quibdó. Sellers need tax registration (RUT); traders also need a valid RUCOM registration and a token from the National Mining Agency (ANM). Subsistence miners (barequeros) may sell an average of 35 gross grams a month and at most 420 a year, and other sellers up to 2,000 gross grams a day. BanRep takes gold only in its natural state, free of mercury, cyanide or acid treatment, and does not accept melted metal or jewellery scrap. If a mine has not paid its royalties, BanRep must work them out and hold them back.

A seal for mercury-free gold

The Sello Minero Ambiental Colombiano is a voluntary seal for gold, silver and platinum mined without mercury. It is regulated by Resolution 2210 of 2018 of the Environment Ministry; certifiers must be accredited by ONAC and authorised by ANLA, and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce recognises it as a certification mark.

IVA on gold

Colombia's standard IVA (VAT) rate is 19%. Gold sold to BanRep is not IVA-free: a 2011 DIAN ruling explains that Decree 3991 of 2010 set IVA withholding at 75% of the tax on BanRep's payments for domestically produced gold (we did not re-check the current rate). We found no DIAN ruling on jewellery or investment bars, so ask whether a price includes IVA.

What moves the peso gold price

The reference exchange rate is the TRM (Tasa de Cambio Representativa del Mercado). The Superintendencia Financiera calculates and certifies it every day as the volume-weighted average of same-day spot dollar trades. The peso gold price is the dollar price times USD/COP, so a weaker peso raises the local price. See what moves gold prices.

Rules for gold traders in Colombia

The Superintendencia Financiera says people and companies may not promote or advertise in Colombia the investment products of foreign firms that have no authorisation in the country, so check a platform's status before you trade.

Our country guides explain how to check a firm before you open an account.

Trading hours in Colombia time

The international gold market trades almost around the clock, from Monday morning in Asia to Friday evening in New York. The busiest window, the London–New York overlap, falls today at about 08:00–12:00 COT. That is when US data such as payrolls and inflation is released and the price usually moves most. Colombia is on UTC-5 all year, so the overlap falls in the morning, an hour earlier in the northern summer when New York and London change their clocks. The gold market hours tool shows every session in your own time zone.

How this COP gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,042.7 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 3,242.13 COP. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,042.7 ÷ 31.1035 = $129.98.
2. Price per gram in COP = $129.98 × 3,242.13 = 421,398 COP (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 421,398 × 10 = 4,213,979 COP.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 18k = 0.75.

The gold price is the spot price of gold (XAUUSD) from a public real-time feed, refreshed every few seconds while the page is open; the 7-day table and the 30-session chart use COMEX gold futures closes, which usually sit a few dollars above spot. The exchange rate is a mid-market rate; the rate your bank or money changer gives you will be slightly different. If you want to do the maths yourself, our guide to converting the gold price per gram, tola and kilo walks through every step with worked examples.

What this price does not include

The figures above are the international spot price converted into local currency. They are the starting point for every retail price in Colombia, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The shop price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where gold or jewellery is imported.
• Sales tax or VAT, where the country charges one. Many countries tax jewellery but not investment bars; the sections above say what applies here.
• Dealer premium: the margin a bullion dealer or bank adds to the spot price for bars and coins, usually larger on small pieces.
• Making charges (labour) on jewellery, often a percentage of the gold value or a fixed amount per gram.
• Local supply and demand, which can push the physical price to a premium or a discount against the international price for weeks at a time.

When you sell, the buyer usually quotes below the spot-based number and deducts for purity testing, wear and sometimes stones. The gap between the buying and the selling price is the real cost of owning physical gold, and it varies a lot between shops, so it is worth asking several.

Frequently asked questions