Gold rate today in Lagos (NGN)

What gold costs in Lagos today

The international price puts a gram of 24k gold in Lagos at roughly 171,354 NGN today, with 22k at about 157,080 NGN. Per 10 grams, a common size for small bars and rate boards, that is about 1,713,540 NGN for 24k. These are spot-based figures, before any tax, premium or making charge. Lagos traders import much of their stock from Dubai, so the Lagos price reflects the Gulf gold price, freight and the exchange rate they can obtain.

What moves the gold price in Lagos

Everything on a Lagos rate board starts from the same place: the dollar price of gold (about $4,007.9 an ounce today) converted at the USD/NGN rate of 1,329.80. The naira has been very volatile since the official exchange windows were unified in 2023, and moves of several percent in a week are not unusual. For buyers in Nigeria the exchange rate is often a bigger driver of the local gold price than the international price itself.

The dollar price itself responds to US interest-rate expectations, the strength of the dollar, inflation data, central-bank buying and geopolitical risk. Our guide to what moves gold prices covers each in turn.

Premiums, making charges and tax in Lagos

The shelf price in Lagos is higher than the converted figure above. A shop adds import and logistics costs, the jeweller's margin and VAT where it applies. On jewellery, making charges are usually built into a per-gram or per-piece price that depends on design and origin, so two pieces of the same weight and purity can carry very different prices. Jewellery commonly comes as 18k 'Italian gold' and 21k or 22k 'Saudi gold' from the Gulf; 24k is uncommon in shops.

Where gold is bought in Lagos

Jewellers on Lagos Island and in Ikeja, and upmarket stores in Victoria Island and Lekki, sell imported 18k and 21k jewellery. When comparing shops, ask for the gold rate per gram, the purity, the making charge and the buy-back price separately; that is the only way to see which offer is really cheaper.

Buying seasons in Lagos

The owambe and wedding seasons and Christmas are the busiest times, and gold sets are a staple of traditional engagement ceremonies. Across Nigeria, demand is strongest around the wedding and owambe season, Christmas, and Eid in the north. Seasonal demand tends to show up in shop premiums, promotions and queues rather than in the international price, which is set by global flows. Knowing the calendar helps explain why a local quote can look expensive or cheap against this page in a given week.

Gold market hours in Lagos

The international gold market trades almost around the clock on weekdays. In Lagos the London–New York overlap, usually the busiest and most volatile part of the day, runs today from about 13:00–17:00 local time. The two LBMA Gold Price auctions in London, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, fall at 10:30 and 15:00 in Lagos, and major US data released at 08:30 New York time, such as payrolls and inflation, lands at 13:30 local time. The week's trading closes at 22:00 on Friday and reopens at 00:00 on Monday, Lagos time; over the weekend the price on this page is the last close. There is no large local gold exchange, so jewellers price off the international rate and the exchange rate they can get, which may differ from the official one. Our gold market hours tool shows the sessions in any time zone.

Lagos compared with Dubai

It is natural to compare Dubai with the price at home. On the converted spot price neither city is cheaper: Dubai quotes about 473.23 AED per gram of 24k, which is the same $128.86 per gram as Lagos's 171,354 NGN. What differs is what each market adds. In Lagos that is import and logistics costs, the jeweller's margin and VAT where it applies; in Dubai it is 5% VAT on jewellery (investment bars of 99% purity or more are zero-rated), making charges and the shop's margin. Buying abroad also means paying an exchange margin and checking the customs allowance at home.

How this NGN gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,007.9 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 1,329.80 NGN. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,007.9 ÷ 31.1035 = $128.86.
2. Price per gram in NGN = $128.86 × 1,329.80 = 171,354 NGN (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 171,354 × 10 = 1,713,540 NGN.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 22k = 0.9167, 21k = 0.875, 18k = 0.750.

The gold price comes from COMEX gold futures, which track spot XAUUSD closely but are not identical to it. 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 Lagos, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The retail or "jeweller" price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where the country imports most of its gold.
• Sales tax, GST or VAT, which may apply to jewellery, to bars and coins, or to both, depending on local law.
• 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