You can find the spot gold price by looking at the most current gold price charts. As of the last market close, the gold price was around $1435 per ounce.

Check the gold price charts on this site to see what today’s market looks like.

In addition to spot prices, there are also forward prices to consider. With many commodities, these are two numbers we want to take a closer look at.

What’s the difference between the spot price of gold and the forward price?

The spot price of a commodity is how much you would pay right now to purchase a specific portion of whatever the material or goods may be. The “settlement date”–which is the date on which receive your purchase–usually takes place within a few days of placing your order and making payment.

In contrast to the spot gold price is the forward gold price.

The forward price of goods or commodities is what you agree to pay in order to make a purchase sometime later. The settlement date takes place at some time in the future. There’s a considerable amount of speculation involved with this, because you’re making a prediction as to what the price of your commodity will look like down the road. This option is often available with non-perishable commodities; or, in other words, stuff that won’t “go bad.”

Perishable commodities–let’s take peaches, for example–wouldn’t be realistic to purchase using a forward price. One big reason is the cost of storage, and the life of the peach.

Even if we knew the value of peaches was going to skyrocket in 6 months, buying a crate of them in April with the plan to bite into them in October might not be a smooth move. Even if they could be maintained for freshness, the cost of storing and preserving our peaches would cause an increase in the forward price.

Of course, precious metals are generally considered to be non-perishable items, and so forward prices apply there.

Before making your investment, it may be worth your time to take a look at both the forward price and the spot price of gold.