Gold Price Today in Thailand

The baht weight and 96.5% gold

Thailand uses its own unit and purity. One baht weight of bar gold is 15.244 grams, and standard Thai gold is 96.5% pure, so a 1-baht bar contains about 14.71 grams of fine gold. The baht weight is divided into four salung of about 3.81 grams each. The same word, baht, is also the name of the currency, so "1 baht of gold" costs tens of thousands of baht in money.

Ornaments are weighed slightly differently: a 1-baht ornament (thong rup pannee) is commonly reckoned at 15.16 grams, a little lighter than a bar, also at 96.5%. Higher-purity 99.99% gold is traded too, mainly by investors and in larger bars, and is priced per gram or per kilogram rather than per baht weight.

How the daily price is set

The Gold Traders Association of Thailand announces the reference price for 96.5% gold based on the world price in dollars and the USD/THB exchange rate. When the world market moves sharply, it can revise the price several times in one day, and each revision is numbered. The announcement has four figures:

The spread on bars is narrow, which is why Thais treat small bars almost like cash. Ornaments cost more on the way in (the gamnet) and fetch less on the way out, because the shop must melt and refine them.

Comparing a Thai quote with world prices

To turn an association price into a price per gram of pure gold, divide it by 14.71 (the fine gold in one baht weight). Comparing that figure with the 99.99% per-gram row above shows the local spread. Because the Thai price is in baht, a stronger baht lowers the local gold price even if the dollar price is unchanged, and a weaker baht raises it, so Thai buyers watch the exchange rate as closely as the gold chart.

Where people buy

Yaowarat Road in Bangkok's Chinatown is the best-known gold district, lined with shops that display the association price on their boards. Gold shops are found in every provincial market and shopping centre, and large chains also sell through apps and online accounts that let buyers trade gold in small amounts. Gold necklaces and bracelets in 96.5% are a common gift at weddings and for newborns, and many families keep savings in 1-baht or 2-baht pieces.

Worked example (illustrative)

Suppose the association price is ฿64,700 to sell and ฿64,600 to buy for a 1-baht bar. You buy a 1-baht necklace at the ornament sell price of ฿64,700 plus ฿900 gamnet, and a 1-baht bar at ฿64,700. If you sold both back the same day, with an ornament buy price of ฿63,400:

All figures are examples, not today's price. For reference, 15.244 g × 96.5% = 14.71 g of fine gold, so at an illustrative ฿4,400 per gram of pure gold, parity for one baht weight would be about ฿64,726.

Tips

• Check the announcement number and time; the price can change several times a day.
• For saving, bars have far lower round-trip costs than ornaments.
• Ask the gamnet before you choose a design; it varies with complexity and weight.
• Keep the shop receipt; selling back to the same shop is usually easiest.