Gold rate today in Colombo

Today's gold price in Colombo

Converted at today's rates, pure 24k gold costs about 43,221 LKR per gram in Colombo, and 22k about 39,621 LKR. Per 10 grams, a common size for small bars and rate boards, that is about 432,212 LKR for 24k. These are spot-based figures, before any tax, premium or making charge.

Sri Lanka's assay office in Colombo

The Sri Lankan Assay Office, part of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority (NGJA), is at No. 260 Lake Drive Mawatha, Colombo 05. It is the authorised assay office listed for Sri Lanka under the international Hallmarking Convention.

The ministry in charge, the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, is also in Colombo, on Galle Road in Colombo 03.

What moves the gold price in Colombo

The Sri Lankan rupee gold price is simply the dollar price of gold multiplied by the exchange rate. Today that means about $4,042.7 per ounce times 332.53 LKR per dollar. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka ended the rupee's peg of about 200 per dollar in March 2022, and within days it moved to about 255 to 265. Currency moves can matter as much as gold 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 Colombo

The shelf price in Colombo is higher than the converted figure above. A shop adds 18% VAT on jewellery (since January 2024), a 15% import duty, making charges and the jeweller's margin. On jewellery, making charges are added per piece or per gram and higher for detailed work, so two pieces of the same weight and purity can carry very different prices. Jewellery is mostly 22k, prices are quoted per sovereign (pawn) of 8 grams, and hallmarking through the Sri Lankan Assay Office is voluntary.

Gold market hours in Colombo

The international gold market trades almost around the clock on weekdays. In Colombo the London–New York overlap, usually the busiest and most volatile part of the day, runs today from about 18:30–22:30 local time. The two LBMA Gold Price auctions in London, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, fall at 16:00 and 20:30 in Colombo, and major US data released at 08:30 New York time, such as payrolls and inflation, lands at 19:00 local time. The week's trading closes at 03:30 on Saturday and reopens at 04:30 on Monday, Colombo time; over the weekend the price on this page is the last close. Colombo's Sea Street is the gold market whose daily rates are reported nationwide, and gold pawning for loans is very common. Our gold market hours tool shows the sessions in any time zone.

Colombo compared with Chennai

Shoppers often ask how Chennai stacks up. On the converted spot price neither city is cheaper: Chennai quotes about 12,209 INR per gram of 24k, which is the same $129.98 per gram as Colombo's 43,221 LKR. What differs is what each market adds. In Colombo that is 18% VAT on jewellery (since January 2024), a 15% import duty, making charges and the jeweller's margin; in Chennai it is about 15% import duty (since 13 May 2026, already inside the IBJA benchmark), 3% GST on the whole bill including making charges, and the jeweller's margin. Buying abroad also means paying an exchange margin and checking the customs allowance at home.

How this LKR 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 = 332.53 LKR. 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 LKR = $129.98 × 332.53 = 43,221 LKR (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 43,221 × 10 = 432,212 LKR.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 22k = 0.9167, 21k = 0.875, 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 Colombo, 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