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A standard COMEX Gold futures quote (symbol GC) is a price in U.S. dollars per troy ounce, not the price of an entire contract. One GC contract represents 100 troy ounces, so a $0.10-per-ounce minimum tick changes the contract’s quoted value by $10. To identify when a contract stops trading, find its delivery month and then check the current CME expiration calendar: GC trading terminates on the third-last business day of that delivery month. Delivery itself can occur on business days from the first through the last business day of the month, so termination and delivery are separate events.
This guide shows how to read the quote, calculate exposure and tick value, identify listed months, verify the exact last-trading date, and avoid applying GC rules to different gold contracts.
What a COMEX GC quote represents
GC is CME Globex’s symbol for the standard COMEX Gold futures contract. The quote convention is U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce. If a screen shows 2,400.00, it is saying $2,400.00 for one troy ounce under the futures contract’s pricing convention; it is not saying that one contract costs $2,400.
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| GC specification | What it means |
|---|---|
| Symbol | GC, standard COMEX Gold futures |
| Quote unit | U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce |
| Contract unit | 100 troy ounces |
| Minimum price fluctuation | $0.10 per troy ounce |
| Value of one minimum tick | $10 per contract ($0.10 × 100 ounces) |
| Settlement | Physical delivery |
| Trading termination | Third-last business day of the delivery month |
| Deliverable quality | Gold assaying to a minimum of 995 fineness |
These are exchange-published contract terms from CME Group’s Gold Futures and Options fact card. They describe the contract specification, not a prediction of price or a recommendation to trade.
How to read a GC quote, step by step
- Confirm the product symbol. Make sure the instrument is identified as GC and described as standard Gold futures. Do not assume that a screen labeled “gold” uses the 100-ounce contract; QO, MGC, GCK and 1OZ are different products.
- Read the number as a per-troy-ounce price. The decimal quote is in U.S. dollars per troy ounce. It is not the total value of the futures contract.
- Find the delivery month. The quote or contract identifier will associate the instrument with a particular delivery month. Record that month before looking up an expiry date.
- Calculate notional exposure. Use
quoted price × 100 troy ounces. This gives the approximate value represented by one GC contract at that quote. - Translate price movement into contract dollars. Use
per-ounce move × 100. A $0.10 move is one minimum tick and equals $10 per contract. - Verify the calendar date. Look up the delivery month in the current CME expiration calendar. The general rule is the third-last business day of that month, but the exact date depends on the exchange holiday and business-day calendar.
A quote screen may show several GC months at once. The nearby month can trade at a different price from a later month because futures prices incorporate financing, storage, insurance and market expectations. The displayed month is therefore part of the quote’s identity, not a minor label. Compare like-for-like months when reviewing prices or calculating a spread.
Contract-size and tick-value calculations
Worked quote: $2,400 per troy ounce
At an illustrative quote of $2,400.00 per troy ounce, one GC contract represents:
100 ounces × $2,400.00 = $240,000
The $240,000 figure is not a purchase price and is not a margin requirement. It is the contract’s notional exposure at that illustrative price. The $2,400 example is arithmetic for explaining the quote convention, not a current or historical market quotation.
Minimum tick
GC’s minimum price fluctuation is $0.10 per troy ounce. The corresponding contract-value change is:
$0.10 × 100 ounces = $10 per contract
A move of $1.00 per ounce therefore corresponds to $100 per contract before commissions, other fees, gains or losses on the position, and any margin effects. For any other price move, multiply the per-ounce change by 100. A move of $0.35, for example, represents $35 per contract by the same arithmetic; whether such a move is permitted as a quoted increment depends on the contract’s tick convention.
Notional value is not margin
Futures are margined instruments. The notional calculation tells you how much gold-price exposure the contract represents; it does not tell you how much initial margin, maintenance margin or available cash a clearing firm will require. Margin levels can change with exchange and clearing requirements and with a broker’s policies. Obtain the current requirements from a licensed futures broker before trading.
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Which GC delivery months are listed?
GC does not list every possible month indefinitely. CME’s specification describes a layered listing pattern:
- The current calendar month and the next two calendar months are listed.
- February, April, August and October months are listed within a 23-month period.
- June and December months are listed within a 72-month period beginning with the current month.
The exact set of contracts visible on a trading platform depends on the current listing display. Treat the pattern as the exchange’s listing rule, then confirm that the particular month you want is currently listed. A month name alone is not enough to establish a valid tradable contract or its last trading date.
The listing windows explain why a platform can show many June and December contracts farther into the future while showing fewer contracts for the other delivery months. They also explain why a contract may disappear from a watchlist after it ceases to be listed or tradable. Always record both the month and the year; “December” without a year is ambiguous.
Expiration, trading termination and delivery are different
GC’s last-trading rule
CME Group’s Gold Futures and Options fact card states: “Trading terminates on the third last business day of the delivery month.” In ordinary usage this is the contract’s last trading day or trading-termination date.
“Third-last business day” is not automatically the third-last numbered day on a calendar. Weekends and exchange holidays affect the count. The exact date also changes with the year and the delivery month. Use the current CME expiration calendar and holiday schedule rather than calculating a date from the month name.
When delivery can occur
GC is physically delivered. The fact card describes delivery as possible on business days from the first business day through the last business day of the delivery month. That delivery window is separate from the date on which trading terminates. A contract can stop trading before the delivery month has ended; the termination date is not a promise that delivery occurs on that date.
The same specification says that gold delivered under the contract must assay to a minimum of 995 fineness and identifies COMEX Rulebook Chapter 113. These are contract-delivery standards, not a description of every investor’s practical ability or desire to take delivery.
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Why the distinction matters
Reading “expiration” as “the day the metal changes hands” can lead to a serious misunderstanding. The exchange’s termination rule tells you when trading in that delivery-month contract ends. The delivery provision describes the period in which delivery may take place. A trader who does not intend to deal with physical delivery should understand the broker’s procedures for closing or rolling a position well before the applicable deadline and should not rely on a generic calendar date.
“Rolling” normally means closing or reducing one delivery-month position and establishing a position in a later month. The exchange rule does not tell a broker when its customer must roll; firms can set earlier internal deadlines for notices, liquidity or risk controls. Ask the broker for those dates rather than assuming the exchange termination date is the firm’s operational cutoff.
GC compared with other CME gold futures
Gold futures symbols are not interchangeable. Contract size, settlement method and termination rules can differ, so apply the specification for the exact symbol shown on your screen.
| Product | Symbol | Contract unit | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Gold futures | GC | 100 troy ounces | Physically delivered; trading terminates on the third-last business day of the delivery month. |
| E-mini Gold futures | QO | 50 troy ounces | Separate smaller gold contract. |
| E-micro Gold futures | MGC | 10 troy ounces | Separate smaller gold contract. |
| 1-Ounce Gold futures | 1OZ | 1 troy ounce | Cash settled to GC; its last trading day is the third-last business day of the month before its contract month. |
| Gold Kilo futures | GCK | 1 kilogram | Separate contract unit. |
The QO, MGC and GCK sizes come from CME’s product comparison. The 1OZ settlement and termination rule come from CME Group’s 1-Ounce Gold futures FAQ dated 24 July 2026. The comparison shows why copying GC’s 100-ounce tick calculation or delivery-month rule onto another symbol can produce the wrong exposure and deadline.
For example, a $1-per-ounce move cannot be assigned a single dollar result until the contract unit is known. The same quoted move would represent $100 on a 100-ounce GC contract, $50 on a 50-ounce QO contract and $10 on a 10-ounce MGC contract, before fees. That arithmetic illustrates the importance of reading the multiplier from the product’s own specification instead of inferring it from the word “gold.”
A practical quote-reading workflow
Before calculating anything
- Read the complete instrument description, not just the word “gold.”
- Confirm the symbol is GC if you intend to use the 100-ounce standard-contract math.
- Identify the delivery month and year.
- Check whether the quote is displayed in U.S. dollars per troy ounce, as specified for GC.
For exposure and price changes
- Multiply the quote by 100 for one GC contract’s notional exposure.
- Multiply any per-ounce price change by 100 for the corresponding contract-value change.
- Use $10 for each $0.10 minimum tick.
- Keep notional exposure separate from margin, commissions, fees and profit or loss.
For the deadline
- Open the current CME/COMEX contract specification or expiration-calendar display.
- Locate the exact GC delivery month and year.
- Apply the stated third-last-business-day rule only as a general description.
- Use the exchange’s published date, which incorporates weekends and holidays.
- Read the delivery provisions separately; do not label the entire delivery month as an additional trading period.
Common mistakes and how to correct them
Mistake: treating the quote as the contract price
Symptom: A quote of $2,400 is interpreted as a $2,400 position. Correction: GC is quoted per ounce; multiply by 100 to determine the approximate notional exposure of one contract.
Mistake: using the wrong contract multiplier
Symptom: A trader applies 100 ounces to MGC, QO, 1OZ or GCK. Correction: Confirm the symbol first. MGC is 10 troy ounces, QO is 50, 1OZ is one troy ounce and GCK is one kilogram.
Mistake: confusing a tick with a dollar-per-ounce move
Symptom: A $0.10 move is treated as $0.10 for the whole contract. Correction: Multiply the tick by 100; one GC minimum tick is $10 per contract.
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Symptom: The date is counted backward from the last calendar day without checking holidays. Correction: Use the current exchange expiration calendar and its business-day convention.
Mistake: treating termination and delivery as the same event
Symptom: “Expires” is read as a guaranteed delivery date. Correction: GC trading terminates on the third-last business day, while delivery may occur on business days from the first through the last business day of the delivery month.
Mistake: assuming every gold contract is physically delivered
Symptom: The GC delivery description is applied to 1OZ. Correction: CME’s 1OZ FAQ describes that product as cash settled to GC and gives it a different last-trading-day rule.
Mistake: confusing futures with bullion
Symptom: A futures contract is treated as if it were an immediate purchase of bars or coins. Correction: A futures contract is an exchange-traded obligation with its own quote unit, margining, termination and delivery rules. Physical bullion is not interchangeable with the GC contract.
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Symptom: A trader selects a December contract but does not verify which year the platform means. Correction: Confirm the full month-and-year identifier and match it to the exchange calendar. Nearby and deferred months can have different liquidity, prices and deadlines.
Account and delivery considerations
CME’s 1OZ FAQ notes that trading futures requires an account with a licensed futures broker, such as a futures commission merchant or an introducing broker. That is a category-level requirement, not an endorsement of a particular firm. A broker also supplies its own instructions for margin, position limits, rollovers, notices and delivery eligibility.
Because GC is physically delivered, anyone holding a position near termination should understand the clearing and broker procedures that apply to that account. The contract specification establishes the exchange terms, but it does not provide individualized legal, tax or trading advice. If your objective is price exposure without a delivery process, obtain professional guidance on the appropriate product and on when a position must be closed or rolled.
Delivery eligibility and account procedures are practical issues separate from the 995-fineness standard. The fact that a contract is physically delivered does not mean every account can receive metal, that a broker will permit a customer to remain open through the delivery process, or that a customer can substitute coins or unrelated bullion. Those details must be confirmed with the clearing broker and the applicable exchange rules.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a GC quote the price of 100 ounces?
No. The quote is a per-troy-ounce price. Multiply it by 100 to estimate the notional exposure represented by one standard GC contract.
How much is one GC tick worth?
The minimum fluctuation is $0.10 per ounce. With 100 ounces per contract, one minimum tick is $10 per contract.
What does a $1 move in gold do to one GC contract?
A $1-per-ounce move corresponds to $100 per GC contract before commissions, fees, gains or losses on the position, and margin effects.
Does a $240,000 notional value mean I need $240,000 in cash?
No. Notional value and margin are different. A broker and clearing firm set initial and maintenance margin requirements, which can change. The notional figure measures exposure, not the cash deposit.
What is the GC expiration date?
GC trading terminates on the third-last business day of the delivery month. The exact calendar date depends on the year’s weekends and exchange holidays, so consult the current CME expiration calendar for the named month and year.
Can delivery happen on the last trading day?
The termination date and delivery period are separate. The specification describes delivery on business days from the first through the last business day of the delivery month; it does not say that delivery occurs on the termination date.
Is GC cash settled?
No. The GC fact card describes the standard contract as physically delivered. CME’s 1OZ product is a contrasting example: its FAQ describes it as cash settled to GC and gives it a different termination rule.
Which gold futures contract is one ounce?
CME’s 1OZ contract represents one troy ounce. It is a separate product, not a one-ounce version to which every GC rule can be transferred.
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Why does my platform show several GC months?
CME lists the current and next two calendar months, selected February, April, August and October months within a 23-month period, and June and December months within a 72-month period beginning with the current month. The current listing display determines which specific contracts are available.
Where can I confirm the exact date?
Use the current CME/COMEX GC contract specification and expiration-calendar display, including the relevant holiday schedule. Do not count back three numbered calendar days from month-end.
What to verify when specifications change
Exchange specifications and calendars can change. Before relying on a quote multiplier or deadline, recheck the current CME/COMEX GC contract specification, the listing display and the expiration calendar for the relevant year. In particular, verify:
- That the symbol is still GC and has not been confused with a smaller or differently settled product.
- That the contract unit and minimum tick remain the values shown for the current specification.
- That the delivery month is listed for the period you are viewing.
- That the published third-last-business-day date reflects the current exchange holiday calendar.
- That your broker’s margin and delivery procedures match the position you intend to hold.
For a standard GC quote, the essential translation remains straightforward: read the number as dollars per troy ounce, multiply by 100 for contract exposure, use $10 for each $0.10 tick, and verify the exact trading-termination date on the current exchange calendar. Keep the symbol, delivery month, last-trading date and delivery window as four separate pieces of information.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does a COMEX GC quote mean?
It is a U.S.-dollar price per troy ounce for the standard 100-troy-ounce Gold futures contract.
How do I calculate one GC contract’s notional value?
Multiply the quoted per-ounce price by 100. At $2,400 per ounce, the illustrative notional exposure is $240,000.
What is the value of one GC minimum tick?
GC’s $0.10-per-ounce minimum fluctuation equals $10 per contract because the multiplier is 100 ounces.
When does GC trading terminate?
Trading terminates on the third-last business day of the delivery month. Check CME’s current calendar for the exact date.
Is termination the same as delivery?
No. Trading ends on the stated termination date, while delivery may occur on business days from the first through the last business day of the delivery month.
Are QO, MGC, 1OZ and GCK interchangeable with GC?
No. They have different contract units and, in the case of 1OZ, a different settlement method and termination rule.
The Bottom Line
Read GC as U.S. dollars per troy ounce, multiply by 100 for one contract’s notional exposure, and multiply each per-ounce move by 100 to translate it into contract dollars. One $0.10 tick is $10. Confirm the exact delivery month and year, then use CME’s current calendar for the third-last-business-day trading termination. Keep that deadline separate from the physical-delivery window, and never apply GC’s multiplier or expiry rule to another gold symbol without checking its own specification.
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