Gold rate today in Uganda

How gold is traded in Uganda

Every gold trade in Uganda must be between holders of a valid licence: a mineral dealer's licence for precious metals, a mining licence or a refining licence. Buyers must check the seller's licence, check the gold's authenticity and purity, and keep proof of purchase (Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, February 2026). We found no published daily reference rate and no hallmarking authority for jewellery. For comparison, the bare international price today works out to about 522,429 UGX per gram of 24k gold.

Export rules, levies and licences

Only gold refined to 99.9% purity may be exported; exporting unrefined gold is banned, and refined exports pay a US$200 per kilogram levy, under regulations in force since 24 May 2024. Each export or import consignment needs a permit, and importers must show that royalty was paid in the country of origin. A precious-metals dealer's licence costs Shs 10 million (plus Shs 500,000 to apply) and expires on 31 December of the year it is issued. Gold royalties were reportedly abolished when the first refinery opened in 2017, and civil-society groups asked for a review in September 2026.

VAT is 18% on supplies that are not exempt or zero-rated; we could not confirm how it applies to jewellery.

Refineries and exports

Uganda has seven gold refineries. In 2025 gold was its top export, worth US$6.40 billion against US$2.46 billion for coffee, out of US$13.43 billion of goods exports (Bank of Uganda data). A significant share of the exported gold comes from neighbouring countries, which limits how much of the value stays in Uganda, and the Middle East took 48.5% of all Uganda's exports in 2025.

The Bank of Uganda buys gold

The Bank of Uganda has started a three-year pilot Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, with test purchases on 17 April 2026. It buys from eligible, prequalified licensed miners and pays in shillings at international prices; the gold is assayed at designated refineries and refined in Uganda to monetary standards before it joins the reserves.

What moves the shilling gold price

The shilling price of gold is the dollar price times USD/UGX, so a weaker shilling raises it even on a flat day for gold. This page shows the dollar price and the exchange rate separately. See what moves gold prices.

Rules for gold traders in Uganda

The Capital Markets Authority licenses capital-market firms and publishes guidance on spotting investment fraud. Check a firm's licence before you use any trading platform.

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

Trading hours in East Africa 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 16:00–20:00 EAT. That is when US data such as payrolls and inflation is released and the price usually moves most. Uganda is on EAT (UTC+3) all year, so the overlap falls in the late afternoon and evening. The gold market hours tool shows every session in your own time zone.

How this UGX gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,072.1 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 3,990.41 UGX. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,072.1 ÷ 31.1035 = $130.92.
2. Price per gram in UGX = $130.92 × 3,990.41 = 522,429 UGX (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 522,429 × 10 = 5,224,291 UGX.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 22k = 0.9167, 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 Uganda, 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