Gold Price in Philippines Today

Pawnshop appraisals and the central bank’s role

Philippine pawnshops and gold buyers appraise gold per gram by karat, and they pay or lend well below the converted international price. The gap covers testing, refining losses, their margin and the risk that the gold is lower purity than stamped. Pawnshops are regulated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and most publish their own per-gram appraisal rates.

How a sanglaan appraises your piece

1. The appraiser checks the stamp and tests purity with acid or an electronic tester.
2. Stones, springs and non-gold parts are deducted to get the net gold weight.
3. Net weight is multiplied by the shop’s rate for that karat.
4. For a loan, you receive a percentage of that value and pay monthly interest until you redeem (tubos) or renew the ticket.
5. If the loan is not redeemed or renewed within the grace period, the item can be auctioned.

Loan and sale offers differ. A pawnshop lends only part of the appraised value because it must be able to sell the piece if you do not come back; a direct sale usually gets more per gram. If you need the gold back, compare interest rates as carefully as appraisal rates.

Use the scrap gold calculator to work out melt value before you go.

The Bangko Sentral’s gold buying

The Philippines is one of the few countries where the central bank buys gold directly from domestic small-scale miners. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has run this program for decades, refining the gold and adding it to the country’s international reserves.

• Small-scale mining is governed by the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991, which sets up declared mining areas.
• Republic Act 11256 (2019) exempted gold sales by registered small-scale miners to the BSP from excise tax and income tax.
• The exemption was meant to draw more of that gold into the formal system instead of informal traders.
• Mining regions in the Cordillera and Mindanao supply much of it.

The BSP reports its gold holdings as part of the country’s gross international reserves, and gold makes up a noticeable share of them. Changes in those holdings are published with the monthly reserve figures.

For consumers, the program matters mostly as background: it is why the BSP is a major gold holder and why Philippine gold prices are always discussed in pesos per gram, the unit the BSP and miners use.

“Saudi gold”, “Japan gold” and pesos per gram

Much of the jewelry sold second-hand in the Philippines was brought home by overseas Filipino workers. The trade calls it “Saudi gold” or “Japan gold,” but those are labels for where the piece came from, not a purity grade, and buyers still test it.

“Saudi gold” earned its reputation because Gulf jewelry is typically 18K or 21K, higher than the 14K and 10K common in local shops. A 21K piece from Riyadh holds about 17% more gold per gram than an 18K piece, so knowing which one you have matters when you sell.

For the 18K value in dollars, see the 18K gold price.

The Gulf side of the story is on the Saudi Arabia gold rate page.

Converting the dollar price into pesos per gram

1. Take the international price in dollars per troy ounce.
2. Multiply by the number of pesos per dollar.
3. Divide by 31.1035 for pesos per gram of pure gold.
4. Multiply by 0.75 for 18K, 0.585 for 14K or 0.417 for 10K.

These numbers illustrate the method; the live figures are in the table at the top of the page. A pawnshop’s appraisal will be below them, and a jeweler’s selling price above. The dollar starting point is the live gold price per ounce.

Why the peso matters

The peso floats, so the local price moves with both gold and the exchange rate. Remittances from overseas workers are large enough to influence the peso, and families receiving them often buy jewelry when the peso is weak and their dollars stretch further. Everyone in the trade quotes per gram, so a small move in the peso shows up immediately on pawnshop boards.

Buying gold jewelry in the Philippines

Meycauayan in Bulacan has long been the country’s jewelry-making center, supplying shops across Luzon and beyond. Most local jewelry is 18K, 14K or 10K, while “Saudi gold” and Hong Kong-style 24K pieces are sold by specialist shops.

How prices are quoted

Jewelers usually quote a price per gram that already includes labor and margin, rather than splitting metal and workmanship as Gulf or Indian shops do. That makes comparisons simple within a shop but hard between shops, because a higher per-gram rate may reflect a finer design.

Worked example: a 5 g 18K ring

At an example retail rate of ₱4,800 per gram (illustration only), a 5 g ring costs ₱24,000. At the example melt value of ₱4,051 per gram from the table above, its gold is worth about ₱20,255. The difference is the jeweler’s labor and margin, and it is what you give up if you sell the ring soon after buying.

Jewelry sales carry VAT at 12% for VAT-registered sellers; for bullion and coins, check current rules.

Selling, mistakes and a short glossary

• Selling “tubog” (gold-plated) or gold-filled pieces as if they were solid. They have almost no scrap value.
• Accepting the first pawnshop appraisal without comparing another.
• Letting a pawn ticket lapse and losing the item at auction.
• Assuming all “Saudi gold” is 21K. Much of it is 18K.
• Ignoring stone deductions, which can be large on rings.

Pawnshops, jewelers and mall gold buyers all buy outright, and their per-gram offers for the same karat can differ noticeably. Getting two or three quotes takes little time. A buyer who will not tell you the karat they tested, or the weight they recorded, is not one to sell to.

Local 14K is the most common grade in malls; the 14K gold price page shows its value in dollars.

Bringing gold to or from the U.S.

Filipino-Americans carrying jewelry to the U.S. should list it on the CBP declaration, gifts included. For amounts taken into the Philippines, the Bureau of Customs has its own rules on declaring jewelry; check current rules before travel.

Short glossary for Philippine gold

• Alahas: jewelry.
• Sanglaan: pawnshop.
• Sangla: to pawn; tubos: to redeem.
• Tubog: gold-plated.
• Saudi gold and Japan gold: trade labels for jewelry brought home by overseas workers.
• BSP: the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank.
• Pawn ticket: the receipt that proves ownership and sets the redemption date.
• Appraisal: the pawnshop’s valuation per gram by karat.

Keep pawn tickets in a safe place and note the maturity and expiry dates. Most pawnshops allow renewal by paying the interest, which keeps the item from going to auction while you raise the money to redeem it.

For gram-based math in dollars, see the gold price per gram.

Other currencies are listed on the gold price by country page.