Data Sources
Metals priced from Tier-1 liquidity
Our metals data feed — an OTC metals price feed and the source behind our gold spot price — is derived exclusively from Tier-1 liquidity providers — global banks and a selection of top-tier ECNs — aggregated into a single tradable order book. We can't name the institutions, so we publish everything else: how the book is built, and the exact specification of every metal priced.
The feed at a glance.
Tier-1
The only tier of liquidity provider in the feed
1
Aggregated order book behind every price
24/7
Continuous monitoring and adjustment
How the metals feed is built.
From bank dealing desks to a single top-of-book price.
Tier-1 liquidity, explained
Our metals pricing is derived exclusively from Tier-1 liquidity providers — the global banks and top-tier ECNs at the core of the market. 'Tier-1' means the largest, most creditworthy institutions: the ones whose prices the rest of the market follows.
One order book, best execution
Contributed rates are aggregated into a single order book. The top of book — the best available bid and ask — is generated under a best-execution policy and monitored and adjusted continuously.
A tradable feed
This is not an indicative composite: the underlying feed is tradable, built so rates can be dealt on with minimal slippage. You're seeing prices the market actually transacts at — delivered to you as clean market data.
Why we don't name names
Unlike our FX feed, where we can name dealing rooms, our metals supplier agreements don't permit naming the underlying liquidity providers. So we publish everything we can instead: the tier of institution, how the book is built, and the exact metal specifications behind every price.
When metals markets pause.
Unlike crypto, metals don't trade 24/7. Quiet periods in the feed are the market itself — not an outage.
Precious metals — round the clock, five days a week
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium trade continuously from Sunday evening to Friday evening (11pm–10pm UK), with a one-hour pause each night anchored to 5pm New York — the market's daily reset. Weekends are closed, just like FX.
Base metals — London sets the clock
Aluminium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc liquidity follows the London Metal Exchange, whose electronic market runs 01:00–19:00 London time. Expect pricing to go quiet overnight (roughly 19:00–01:00) until Asian trading picks the market back up.
Session times are anchored to New York and London market conventions and shift with local daylight saving — UK clock times above can vary by an hour for a few weeks each year. Exact API behaviour during market pauses is covered in the API docs.
Exactly what metal is being priced.
A gold price means little without knowing which gold. These are the material specifications behind every instrument in the feed.
Precious metals — minimum fineness
OTC aggregate top-of-book pricing, traded for delivery.
| Metal | Minimum fineness |
|---|---|
| Gold | 995 |
| Silver | 999 |
| Platinum | 999.5 |
| Palladium | 999.5 |
Base metals — contract grade
Our feeds are not LME data, but pricing follows LME contract specifications.
| Metal | Contract grade |
|---|---|
| Copper | Grade A, 99.99% Cu |
| Aluminium | Primary P1020A, 99.7% Al |
| Zinc | Special High Grade, 99.995% |
| Lead | 99.97% Pb |
| Nickel | Primary, 99.80% Ni |
Metals data sources — FAQ.
Where the numbers come from, and what you can build on them.
Where do fastFOREX API metals prices come from?
Why don't you name the liquidity providers?
What does 'tradable feed' and 'top of book' mean?
Why does pricing pause overnight and at weekends?
Which quality of metal does the price refer to?
Are these executable quotes from fastFOREX API?
Metals data is live.
Tier-1 sourced spot prices, one API call away — free for 7 days, no credit card required.