Gold Price in North America Today

North America does not buy the most gold, but it prices it. The COMEX futures exchange in New York runs the world’s most traded gold contract, and the US dollar — the currency gold is quoted in — makes American monetary policy the single biggest short-term driver of the gold price worldwide. When the Federal Reserve moves rates, gold moves everywhere. The United States also holds the world’s largest official gold reserves, in Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s vaults, and American investors buy gold overwhelmingly as portfolio insurance: one-ounce Eagles, small bars, and exchange-traded funds.

Canada is the region’s mining powerhouse and the world’s fourth-largest producer at about 200 tonnes in 2024 (USGS), with Ontario and Quebec hosting most of the output. The Royal Canadian Mint’s Gold Maple Leaf — 99.99% pure, among the purest bullion coins made — is a global benchmark product. Mexico, at about 130 tonnes, is the world’s eighth-largest producer and a country where gold mining stretches back to the colonial era; its domestic market is smaller but growing, with the gold Libertad coin a national symbol. The Caribbean completes the picture: Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have strong gold-jewellery cultures fed by large US and UK diasporas, and the Dominican Republic hosts the world-scale Pueblo Viejo mine, with gold accounting for 15–25% of its merchandise exports.

Buying gold in North America

The practical details vary by country. In the United States there is no federal VAT, but sales tax on bullion depends on the state — many states exempt it entirely. Canada applies GST or HST to some gold products but exempts most investment-grade bullion. Both countries quote gold per troy ounce, and both have deep, competitive dealer networks where premiums over spot for a one-ounce coin are typically just a few percent. For Caribbean buyers, gold is usually bought as jewellery from local goldsmiths, with 22K and 18K both common. Whatever the market, the starting point is the same dollar spot price in the table above — see the individual country pages, starting with the USA, Canada, Mexico.