A study by institutions found that the benchmark price of London gold may have been manipulated by the five largest gold dealers participating in pricing, namely Barclays Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, HSBC, and Crédit Agricole for many years. These banks determine the gold fixing price twice a day through a telephone conference. At the beginning of each pricing, the chairman announces the opening price to other members, and member banks will then convey the price to clients and inform the representatives of each bank of the number of buyers and sellers on the price adjusted based on received orders. The price will be adjusted up and down until the buyers and sellers match, thus forming the "gold fixing price".

However, the London gold price usually experiences abnormal fluctuations in the European session, precisely during the key moment when the five largest gold dealers determine the afternoon gold fixing price through a non-public telephone conference, which has led to doubts about their manipulation of gold prices in the market.

Nevertheless, London gold remains the most influential benchmark price in the global gold market. One crucial reason is that the five major gold dealers participating in London gold pricing have an unparalleled hegemony in the gold market. For example, HSBC's gold reserves may be close to 4,000 tons, and it also has a team of professional gold exploration to ensure the collection of a vast amount of information and resources in the gold mining chain. In addition, HSBC has built a 24-hour global trading network and participated in gold trading in different regions, forcing global gold participants to be aware of HSBC's latest views on gold fluctuations at all times.