What Are Gold Futures? GC Contract Explained
Learn what standard COMEX Gold futures, GC, are: the 100-troy-ounce contract unit, quote convention, $10 outright tick, named month, and delivery path.
Direct answer
Standard COMEX Gold futures, commonly identified by the GC root, are physically delivered futures contracts for 100 troy ounces of gold. CME quotes GC in U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce. For ordinary outright trading, the minimum fluctuation is $0.10 per troy ounce, or $10 for one 100-ounce contract. GC is a named-month contract, so the root alone is not a complete price, delivery, or ownership record.
GC is a standardized commodity contract for a named delivery month
GC identifies CME COMEX's standard Gold futures product, but a complete contract identity also needs its delivery month and year. The named month is part of the agreement's terms rather than a label added after the price is published. It helps define the particular contract's lifecycle and physical delivery path.
Gold is the underlying commodity, while GC is the exchange contract that gives the commodity a unit, quote convention, delivery month, and rulebook process. What commodity futures are explains why a commodity name alone is not enough to identify a futures agreement.
The GC contract unit and quote unit answer different questions
CME defines standard GC as 100 troy ounces. Its quotation is in U.S. dollars and cents per troy ounce. The first describes how much gold the contract represents; the second describes the unit in which the displayed futures price moves. Do not turn a dollars-per-ounce quotation into the cash price of one ounce, a claim to immediately available metal, or a generic market headline.
The contract has a dated futures price, whereas a spot or cash-market record uses its own delivery timing and terms. Futures versus spot markets separates those records without treating a gold futures quote as an immediate-delivery price.
A $0.10 quote move is a $10 ordinary outright GC tick
For ordinary outright GC trading, the minimum price fluctuation is $0.10 per troy ounce. Multiplying that $0.10 quote increment by the 100-troy-ounce contract unit produces a $10 tick value for one GC contract. A one-dollar-per- ounce movement has a different per-contract cash scale from one tick, so keep the movement unit explicit.
Quote field and observation time still matter. A number shown as a bid, ask, last trade, exchange settlement, or chart value is not automatically the same record. How to read Gold futures quotes puts the product, month, field, and time together before a GC number is used.
Physical delivery is a contract process, not a shorthand for a bar purchase
GC is physically delivered under CME COMEX rules. That tells a reader to study the contract's delivery mechanism rather than assume cash settlement, but it does not turn every open contract into a simple statement that a 100-ounce bar is bought or sold. The delivery month has its own notice, trading, and clearing-process dates.
Gold futures expiration and delivery sets out the GC calendar entries and warrant-based delivery process. Contract size is also product-specific: Micro Gold futures versus Gold futures compares MGC and GC without treating the smaller unit as the same contract.
A complete specification record keeps related gold products distinct
Gold futures, gold funds, and other gold-labelled products can all use a price per different unit and follow different legal or final processes. Gold futures versus a Gold ETF compares the dated futures contract with a fund share rather than assuming they are the same claim.
For GC itself, record the exchange, product, month-year, 100-troy-ounce unit, quote unit, ordinary outright tick, price field, timestamp, and current rule source. How to read futures contract specifications provides a reusable way to check those fields for the exact listed contract.
This guide describes standard COMEX Gold futures mechanics. It does not publish a current gold price, recommend a position, predict gold's price, or determine an account's treatment of a contract. Current CME rules, clearing procedures, and market data govern the exact contract.
Common questions
What does GC mean in futures markets?
GC is the common root for CME COMEX standard Gold futures. A complete contract reference also needs its delivery month and year.
How much gold does one standard GC contract represent?
Under CME's current standard Gold futures rule, one GC contract represents 100 troy ounces of gold.
How much is one GC tick worth?
For ordinary outright trading, GC's $0.10-per-troy-ounce minimum fluctuation is $10 per contract because the contract represents 100 troy ounces.
Is a GC price the same as the spot price of gold?
No. GC is a quote for a named futures contract month. A spot or cash-market record has its own delivery timing, field, source, and timestamp.
Are standard Gold futures physically delivered?
Yes. Standard GC has a physical-delivery process under CME COMEX rules. The exact calendar and warrant-based procedure should be read for the named month.