Weekend Money Briefing: Gold at £102.47 a Gram and Saturday Electricity at Negative Prices

What changed for your money this week

Markets ended the week higher. The FTSE 100 closed on Friday at 10,552.05, up 1.1% on the day. Our UK Markets Daily hub carries the full closing snapshot, and both daily pages refresh again on Monday evening.

Gold kept climbing. At Friday’s close, 24 carat gold stood at £102.47 per gram, and the melt value of a gold sovereign was £749.57. Silver closed at $61.03, up 3.33% on the day. The full per gram table for 24k, 22k, 18k and 9ct, in pounds, is on our Gold Price Today UK page, checked against BullionByPost and Chards.

The energy price cap is now £1,723 a year. That is the Ofgem cap for a typical household, in place since 1 October 2026. What you actually pay still depends on your tariff and how much you use, which is why today’s Agile prices in the checklist below are worth a look if you are on that tariff.

This weekend’s money checklist

1. If you are on Octopus Agile, run the big appliances from 11am today. For Saturday 10 October, the cheapest two hour block starts at 11:00 in every region, at an average of about minus 3.2p per kWh. The prices are negative, so you are paid to use electricity in that window. The dearest half hour is the 6.30pm evening peak, so keep the tumble dryer and the oven away from it if you can. Tomorrow’s prices, region by region, are on Money Weather.

2. Weigh up any old gold before you sell it. With 24k gold at £102.47 per gram and a sovereign’s melt value at £749.57, the gold in a drawer may be worth more than you think. What a buyer offers is based on the melt value, not the headline price, and our gold page shows the worked examples for each carat so you can check an offer before you accept it.

3. Check the bank switch offers, because one big one has ended. Santander’s £240 offer ended on 7 October, so do not chase it. HSBC’s £220 is currently the biggest fee-free lump sum, and Barclays pays up to £300 with conditions. The full checked list, with the terms that matter, is on our best bank switch offers page.

4. Look for a forgotten Child Trust Fund. About 827,000 matured Child Trust Funds are still unclaimed, worth about £2,310 each on average, according to HMRC figures. The funds were opened for children born between September 2002 and January 2011, so if that is you, or your child, it is worth five minutes this weekend. Our unclaimed money guide walks through the free official route, and our full Child Trust Fund guide is coming Monday on UK Markets Today.

5. Do one benefits check. About £24.1 billion of benefits and support goes unclaimed every year, according to Policy in Practice. Many households miss money simply because no one told them it existed. The same unclaimed money guide lists the main routes and the official checkers, all free.

The week ahead

Monday 12 October: our Child Trust Fund guide publishes on UK Markets Today, with the step by step finder and what to do once you have found the money. Gold Price Today and Money Weather also refresh with Monday’s closing figures on Monday evening.

Wednesday 28 October: Budget Day. The Chancellor’s statement is the biggest money date of the autumn, and we will cover what changes for taxes, savings and bills as the announcements land.

Questions people are asking this weekend

The questions UK readers are typing into Google and asking AI assistants this weekend, answered with the same checked figures as the briefing above.

What is the gold price today in the UK?

At Friday’s close, on 9 October 2026, 24 carat gold was £102.47 per gram in the UK. The UK price is the world dollar price converted into pounds, which is why it moves even when nothing changes in Britain. Our Gold Price Today page updates the per gram prices every weekday evening.

What is a gold sovereign worth today?

The gold metal inside a sovereign was worth £749.57 at Friday’s close, worked out from its 22 carat gold weight. That is the melt value, not a guaranteed payout: dealers buy at a percentage below it, so shop around, and expect the offer to move with the daily gold price.

What is the cheapest time to use electricity tomorrow?

For Saturday 10 October, the cheapest two hour block starts at 11am in every UK region, at an average of about minus 3.2p per kWh: prices are negative, so you are paid to use electricity then. The dearest half hour is the 6.30pm peak. Money Weather lists both every evening.

What is the energy price cap now?

The Ofgem price cap is £1,723 a year for a typical household, set on 1 October 2026. The cap limits the unit rates and standing charges your supplier can charge, not your total bill: use more energy and you pay more. Money Weather tracks the cap and what it means for bills.

How much money is sitting in unclaimed Child Trust Funds?

About 827,000 matured Child Trust Funds are still unclaimed, worth about £2,310 each on average, according to HMRC figures released in September 2026. They belong to people born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011. Checking is free on GOV.UK, and our step by step guide publishes here on Monday.

Figures checked on Friday 9 October 2026. Sources: UK Markets Today market data pipeline (Friday closing figures, gold benchmarked against BullionByPost and Chards), Octopus Energy Agile tariff data, Ofgem, HMRC, Policy in Practice. Information only, not financial advice.