Gold Bullion
Refined gold in bar or ingot form, typically 99.5% purity or higher, the standard form in which central banks and institutional investors hold gold as a reserve asset rather than for retail jewellery or coin use.
Covered in 18 MetalsCost.com News Intelligence articles, most recently on October 14, 2026.
Overview
Gold bullion is refined gold cast or minted into bars, valued for its metal content rather than any decorative or design premium the way jewellery or collector coins are. It ranges from tiny 1-gram wafers sold to retail savers up to the 400-ounce (roughly 12.5 kg) 'Good Delivery' bars that move between central banks and bullion banks in vault-to-vault transfers. Bullion trades close to the prevailing spot gold price, with only a small premium over metal value to cover refining, fabrication and dealer margin, which is what separates it from jewellery, where making charges and design work can add a much larger markup on top of the gold price.
How It's Manufactured
Bullion starts either as newly mined doré — an unrefined gold-silver alloy poured at the mine site — or as recycled scrap gold from jewellery, electronics and old bars. Refiners dissolve this raw material and separate the gold using one of two established processes: the Miller process, which bubbles chlorine gas through molten metal to remove base-metal impurities and reaches about 99.5% purity, or the slower, more expensive Wohlwill electrolytic process, which can push purity above 99.99% for bars needing the highest fineness. The refined gold is then cast into bars of standard weights or, for smaller bars, stamped from rolled sheet, with each bar assayed and stamped with its refiner's hallmark, serial number, weight and purity.
Byproducts
Refining doré into pure gold bullion also separates out the silver that's almost always alloyed with mined gold, along with smaller amounts of platinum-group metals and base metals like copper that can end up recovered and sold separately depending on the ore body. The Miller process itself produces a gold-silver-chlorine residue stream that refiners capture and reprocess rather than discard, since both the silver and any unreacted chlorine have value. Electronics and jewellery scrap sent for recycling likewise yields recovered silver, palladium and copper alongside the gold, making large refineries multi-metal recovery operations even when gold is the main product they're known for.
Who Consumes It
Central banks are the single largest institutional holders of gold bullion, building reserves as a hedge against currency risk and geopolitical uncertainty, and their collective buying or selling can move the gold market meaningfully. Bullion banks and dealers hold and trade bars to supply that demand and to service ETFs, which themselves must hold physical bullion to back the shares they issue. Below that sit sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and private institutional investors using bullion as a portfolio diversifier, and retail investors buying small bars directly from banks, refiners or jewellers as a straightforward way to own physical gold.
Everyday Uses
For most individual buyers, gold bullion functions as a savings vehicle rather than something used day to day — a small bar bought and locked away in a bank locker or home safe as a store of value, often bought around festivals or as a wedding gift in markets like India where physical gold ownership carries strong cultural weight. Some buyers use small bullion bars as informal collateral, pledging them for a gold loan when they need short-term cash without selling the metal outright. Because bullion carries a much smaller premium over spot price than jewellery, it's generally the more cost-efficient way to hold gold purely as an investment rather than to wear it.
Industrial Uses
Bullion itself sits mostly outside industrial supply chains — its main institutional role is as a reserve and investment asset rather than a manufacturing input. Where it does feed industry is upstream: refined bars and cast ingots are the feedstock jewellery manufacturers melt down and re-work into rings, chains and bangles, and the same refined gold supplies electronics makers who need small quantities of high-purity gold for plating connectors and bonding wire. Bullion also underpins gold-backed lending and leasing at an institutional scale, with bullion banks lending physical gold to jewellery manufacturers and other market participants who need working metal rather than tying up capital buying it outright.
Coverage
Gold and Silver Slide as Hotter US Inflation Revives Fed Rate Hike Bets
Gold fell more than 1% and silver about 4% on Wednesday after US consumer prices rose faster than expected in September, strengthening bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike this year.
India Confirms Banks Have Paid 3% IGST on Gold Imports Since April as Exemption Lapses
India's government has confirmed that banks lost their exemption from 3% IGST on gold, silver and platinum imports on March 31 and have paid the tax since April. The GST Council was informed at its meeting on October 8.
China's Central Bank Buys Gold for a 23rd Straight Month, Adding About 23 Tonnes
China's central bank added gold to its reserves for a 23rd straight month in September, lifting holdings to 77.47 million ounces from 76.73 million. The increase, about 23 tonnes, was larger than August's, even as gold prices fell during the month.
LBMA Delegates Expect Gold Near $5,013 and Silver Near $94.70 a Year From Now
Delegates at the London Bullion Market Association's annual conference expect gold to trade around $5,013 an ounce a year from now, about 20% above current levels. They are even more bullish on silver, forecasting about $94.70, a gain of more than 54%.
Gold Touches a Two-Month Low Near $4,100 as the Dollar and Bond Yields Climb
Gold fell to a two-month low just above $4,100 an ounce on Tuesday, as the US dollar held near its highest level since April 2025 and long-term US bond yields stayed at 24-year highs. Fading bets on an October Fed rate hike limited the losses.
Bundesbank Chief Says the Case for Central Banks to Keep Buying Gold Remains Strong
Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said the case for central banks to diversify further into gold remains significant, even as higher bond yields make government debt more attractive. Gold's share of global central bank reserves has risen to almost 25% from about 14% in 2023.
Central Banks Bought a Net 39 Tonnes of Gold in August, Led by China
Central banks reported net gold purchases of 39 tonnes in August, World Gold Council data show, taking reported buying this year to 170 tonnes. China led with 20 tonnes, while Russia was the biggest seller.
Gold Falls ₹1,400 on MCX While Silver Gains as Indian Markets Reopen After the Holiday
Gold fell ₹1,400 to ₹1,49,050 per 10 grams on the MCX on Monday, even as international prices edged up. Silver rose ₹1,025 to ₹2,26,902 per kilogram as weak US jobs data cut the odds of an October Fed rate hike.
The LBMA Goes on Trial in London Over Deaths at a Tanzanian Gold Mine
The London Bullion Market Association, which sets the rules for the world's biggest gold market, goes on trial in London's High Court on October 7. Families of two men killed at Tanzania's North Mara mine say it owed them a duty of care.
Asian Gold Producers Move to Keep More of Their Gold at Home
Gold-producing countries across Asia are moving to keep more of their metal at home by refining it locally, taxing exports and stepping up central bank buying, Nikkei Asia reports. Over time, that could shrink the gold available on world markets.
Pension Funds Keep 2-5% in Gold as Bonds Lose Their Power to Protect, WGC Says
Pension funds in the Netherlands, the US, Britain and Australia have kept 2% to 5% of their assets in gold for five to six years, a World Gold Council report shows. They hold it because government bonds no longer reliably rise when stocks fall.
GST Council May End Tax-Free Gold and Silver Imports for Banks and Nominated Agencies
The GST Council will consider on October 7 whether to withdraw a 2017 exemption that lets banks and nominated agencies import gold, silver and platinum without paying 3% IGST. The change would tax them the same way as bullion exchanges.
Gold Fails to Hold $4,200 After Weak US Jobs Data as Treasury Yields Rise
Gold fell nearly 1% to about $4,138 an ounce on Friday after briefly touching $4,227, as US Treasury yields rose despite a weak jobs report. Silver also slipped and ended the week down more than 6%.
Indonesia Wants Its Households to Move $250 Billion of Hoarded Gold Into the Banking System to Shield the Rupiah
Indonesia is channeling an estimated 1,800 tons of privately held household gold, worth over $250 billion, into bullion banks to build a self-funded buffer for the rupiah against capital flight.
Venezuela Nears Deal to Move Disputed $4 Billion Gold Reserve From London to New York
Venezuela's interim government and opposition are nearing a deal to move 31 tonnes of gold worth about $4 billion from London's Bank of England to the New York Federal Reserve, pending a UK court's approval.
Gold Holds Near a Three-Month High as Traders Wait on US Inflation Data and Fed Chair Warsh's Speech
Gold is holding near a roughly three-month high above $4,600 an ounce as traders await Wednesday's core PCE inflation report and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Friday speech at Jackson Hole.
Gold Tops $4,500 as Surprise US Treasury Bond Buyback Sends Yields Sharply Lower
Gold jumped past $4,500 and silver surged toward $66 on August 19, reversing an early slide after the US Treasury said it would double bond buybacks, pulling Treasury yields sharply lower.
Central Banks Drive Gold's Best Month Since 1999 as Treasury Holdings Hit 14-Year Low
Gold surged about 10% since August 1 toward its best month since 1999, as record central bank gold buying — led by a record-reserve China — coincided with central banks' US Treasury holdings falling to a 14-year low.
