{"id":20293,"date":"2026-10-05T05:45:56","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T04:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T07:48:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:48:00","slug":"premium-over-spot","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Premium over Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mrf-gl\"><p class=\"gl-def\">The premium over spot is the amount a buyer pays above the value of the metal in a bar or coin, usually shown as a percentage of the spot price. It covers production, distribution and the dealer&#039;s margin.<\/p><aside class=\"panel gl-live\"><p class=\"gl-live-h\">\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddec Today in Singapore<\/p><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Gold, 1 troy ounce (spot)<\/span><b>S$5,311<\/b><\/div><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Cheapest 1 oz gold coin: <a href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/product\/1-oz-krugerrand-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Krugerrand Gold Coin<\/a><\/span><b>S$5,494.70<\/b> <small>+3.5% premium<\/small><\/div><p class=\"gl-src\">Data as of 05.10.2026, updated daily.<\/p><a class=\"btn primary\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">Compare gold coin prices \u203a<\/a><\/aside><div class=\"gl-body\"><h2>How to calculate the premium<\/h2><p>Premium (%) = (price you pay minus metal value) \/ metal value x 100. Metal value is the fine weight in troy ounces times the <a href=\"spot-price}}\">spot price<\/a> in SGD.<\/p><p>Take a 1 oz Kangaroo. It holds exactly one troy ounce of gold. If the final price is 4% above the SGD spot price for one ounce, the premium is 4%. For a 37.5 g tael bar, first convert: 37.5 g \/ 31.1035 = 1.2057 oz, then multiply by spot to get metal value.<\/p><h2>What drives the premium in Singapore<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Size.<\/strong> Fixed production costs are spread over more metal in larger items, so a 1 kg bar usually carries a lower premium per gram than a 1 oz coin.<\/li><li><strong>Bar or coin.<\/strong> Minted coins cost more to make than cast bars.<\/li><li><strong>GST.<\/strong> An item that is not Investment Precious Metal, such as a gold Krugerrand or a proof coin, has 9% GST added on top of the price. That alone can make it far dearer than an exempt coin with the same gold.<\/li><li><strong>Supply and demand.<\/strong> Premiums rise when demand jumps, for example during sharp price falls when buyers rush in.<\/li><li><strong>Import and logistics.<\/strong> Coins shipped in from Australia, Canada or the US carry freight and insurance costs.<\/li><li><strong>Payment and delivery.<\/strong> Some dealers charge more for card payments or add delivery fees.<\/li><\/ul><h2>Compare final price, not headline price<\/h2><p>A low advertised premium is not the full story. A dealer might show a keen price but add delivery, insurance or a card surcharge at checkout, or quote without GST on a non-IPM coin. The number that matters is the total you pay to have the item in your hand, divided by its fine metal content.<\/p><p>That is how metalsradar ranks offers: by the real final price including shipping. Check today's ranking of <a href=\"\/sg\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">gold coins in Singapore by total cost<\/a>, or compare a single product such as the <a href=\"\/sg\/product\/1-oz-kangaroo-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Gold Kangaroo across dealers<\/a>.<\/p><h3>Premium and buy-back together<\/h3><p>A low premium matters less if the dealer pays little when you sell. Look at both sides: the premium on the way in and the dealer's buy-back price on the way out, covered in the entry on the <a href=\"spread}}\">bid-ask spread<\/a>. Widely known coins like the Maple Leaf or Kangaroo usually keep a narrower gap than less familiar products. Compare also <a href=\"bullion}}\">bullion<\/a> with <a href=\"numismatic}}\">numismatic coins<\/a>, where premiums can be several times higher.<\/p><\/div><h2>Related terms<\/h2><p class=\"gl-chips\"><a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/glossary\/spot-price\/\">Spot Price<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/glossary\/bid-ask-spread\/\">Bid-Ask Spread<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/glossary\/bullion\/\">Bullion<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/glossary\/investment-precious-metals-gst\/\">Investment Precious Metals (IPM) and GST<\/a><\/p><section class=\"mrf-faq\"><h2>FAQ<\/h2><div class=\"faq-list\"><details open><summary><h3>What is a good premium for gold in Singapore?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>There is no fixed figure because premiums change with demand, but GST-exempt bars from large refiners usually carry the lowest premium per gram, and 1 oz coins a little more.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Why is the premium on gold coins higher than on bars?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Coins cost more to mint and ship per gram of gold than cast bars, and popular coins can be in short supply when demand rises.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Does GST count as part of the premium?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>For non-IPM items such as the gold Krugerrand, GST at 9% is added to the price and raises the effective cost above spot, so include it when you compare.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section><details class=\"gl-src-list\"><summary>Sources<\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.iras.gov.sg\/media\/docs\/default-source\/e-tax\/gst-guide-on-exemption-of-investment-precious-metals7f0062ff-780a-4a53-90fa-e1f3b1e25770.pdf\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">IRAS e-Tax Guide: GST Exemption of Investment Precious Metals (IPM)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":20237,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20293","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20381,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20293\/revisions\/20381"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/sg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}