Gold Desk Workflow: From Fair Value to Trade Plan
A guided desk session for newer commodity traders who need a practical path from market data to a disciplined daily plan.
Lesson promise
Frame the question
Is local market gold rich or cheap versus global gold?
Check the evidence
Use 6 guided chapters to read freshness, confidence, and caveats in order.
Move into the tool
Open Open Fair Value Tracker with a checklist instead of a blank screen.
Educational workflow only. No trade recommendations, personalized advice, leverage guidance, or guaranteed outcomes.
Chapter 01
From COMEX to local market fair value
Trader question
Is local market gold rich or cheap versus global gold?
Start with the global gold reference, convert through FX, add visible local assumptions, then compare the active local market contract against a fair-value band.
Desk checklist
- Check timestamp freshness before trusting the spread.
- Keep the contract month and local quotation basis visible.
- Treat parity as a band, not a magic target.
Interactive proof
Fair Value Tracker
Walk the quote through each layer and notice where assumptions enter the number.
Global gold reference translated into local currency/10g
FX layer lifts or compresses the local read
Duty, carry, and local assumptions form parity
Live futures can trade rich or cheap to parity
Interactive desk lab
COMEX to local market Fair Value Bridge
A source-backed Gold Desk workbench for converting a COMEX gold reference into an estimated local market local currency per 10g fair value.
A source-backed Gold Desk workbench for converting a COMEX gold reference into an estimated local market local currency per 10g fair value.
COMEX to local market fair-value bridge
A global gold quote passes through FX, landed costs, and carry before becoming a local parity band.
COMEX quote enters as the global reference.
FX layer translates the quote into local currency.
Duty and carry layers stack into an local market parity band.
Live local market print lands above, inside, or below that band.
Lesson notes
The full chapter walkthrough in reading form — use it to review the lesson or skim ahead before working through the interactive steps above.
Chapter 01
From COMEX to local market fair value
Is local market gold rich or cheap versus global gold?
Start with the global gold reference, convert through FX, add visible local assumptions, then compare the active local market contract against a fair-value band.
Fair Value Tracker
- Check timestamp freshness before trusting the spread.
- Keep the contract month and local quotation basis visible.
- Treat parity as a band, not a magic target.
Chapter 02
Basis is the gap, not the signal
Is the spread normal, stretched, or explained by local conditions?
Basis is the difference between traded price and the fair-value reference. It can persist because of local demand, carry, FX timing, delivery rules, or liquidity.
Basis monitor and spread history
- Ask whether the move is fresh or a repeat of the last few sessions.
- Check if an event or FX move explains the spread.
- Avoid calling every gap an arbitrage opportunity.
Chapter 03
Use pivots as a trading map
Where should I wait instead of chasing price?
Pivots turn prior price action into objective levels. They are planning coordinates that become useful only when price accepts, rejects, or pauses around them.
Pivot Calculator
- Use daily pivots for session structure.
- Use weekly pivots for broader context.
- Respect macro timing when a level sits near a release window.
Chapter 04
COT shows the weekly crowd
Are large traders adding risk or backing away?
COT data helps frame whether funds, hedgers, swap dealers, and other reportables are crowded or confirming the move. It is delayed backdrop, not a trigger.
COT Report Analysis
- Use COT as weekly context, not intraday timing.
- Compare positioning with price and open interest.
- Be careful when crowded positioning meets a nearby catalyst.
Chapter 05
Calendar risk before trade ideas
When should I reduce size, wait, or avoid fresh entries?
Known event timing changes trade quality. Inflation, jobs, central-bank communication, GDP, and USD-sensitive events can overwhelm clean levels.
Economic Calendar
- Scan today and tomorrow before trusting any setup.
- Mark the next 24 hours as active timing risk.
- Use post-event behavior to confirm or reject the plan.
Chapter 06
The daily workflow checklist
What do I actually do each morning?
Use a sequence: calendar first, fair value second, COT backdrop third, pivot execution map fourth, alerts and review last.
Connected Bullion Brains desk
- Do not let one tool overrule the whole desk.
- Write the invalidation before the entry.
- Use alerts and journal review to reduce screen-chasing.
Sources used for this tutorial
Next step
Open the tool with the checklist beside you.
Move from the lesson into the matching Bullion Brains tool, keep the checklist visible, and treat the output as evidence until the caveats are clear.