How to Trade Gold (XAUUSD)
XAUUSD is the symbol for gold in US dollars per troy ounce. To trade gold as a CFD, you buy or sell XAUUSD, the gold price in US dollars per troy ounce, in lots and settle the price difference in cash without owning any metal. This guide covers the MT5 steps, what a lot and a $1 move are worth, margin, spread, swap and the busiest hours.
XAUUSD is the trading symbol for gold in US dollars per troy ounce, and to trade it as a CFD you open a buy or sell position on XAUUSD, choose a size in lots, and settle the change in price in cash when you close, without ever owning any metal.
You put down a margin deposit rather than the full value, every $1 move in the gold price is worth a fixed amount for your size, and the spread, any commission and an overnight financing charge called swap are added to or taken from each result.
The usual path is to learn how XAUUSD is quoted and sized, practise the steps on a MetaTrader 5 (MT5) demo account, then trade live with the same steps. Contract size, margin and swap are set per account, and MT5's Specification window shows the figures for yours. The examples below use round numbers so the arithmetic is easy to follow.
What is XAUUSD?
XAUUSD is the trading symbol for gold priced in US dollars: XAU is the code for one troy ounce of gold and USD is the US dollar, so a quote of 4,000.00 means one troy ounce costs 4,000 US dollars. It looks like a currency pair, but gold is a precious metal, a commodity.
Gold is quoted in dollars because the main benchmark is. The LBMA Gold Price is set twice each business day in London, at 10:30 and 15:00 UK time, in US dollars per troy ounce. A troy ounce is about 31.1 grams, slightly heavier than an ordinary ounce.
Like any CFD, XAUUSD shows two prices: a lower sell (bid) price and a higher buy (ask) price. The gap between them is the spread. How gold fits among the other markets is covered in trading asset classes.
How do you read an XAUUSD chart on MT5?
To open an XAUUSD chart in MetaTrader 5, right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch and choose Chart Window, then pick a timeframe from the toolbar, such as H1 for hourly candles or D1 for daily ones. Each candle shows gold's open, high, low and close in dollars per ounce for that period.
The chart plots the sell (bid) price by default. To see the buy price as well, right-click the chart, choose Properties and tick Show Ask line on the Show tab, so you can watch the spread widen and narrow through the day. How a candle is built is covered in candlestick anatomy, and which timeframe to use in chart timeframes.
To judge how far gold moves, compare a candle's range with the price. At 4,000.00, a daily candle with a $40 range is a 1% day, and on 0.10 lot (10 ounces) that is $400 from the low to the high. The ATR indicator averages that range over 14 periods, so you can size a stop to gold's usual daily movement.
How do you trade gold?
You can trade or invest in gold in four main ways: buying physical gold, buying a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), trading gold futures on an exchange, or trading a gold CFD with a broker. They differ in whether you own anything, how much money you put down and whether you can take a position on a falling price.
| Way to trade gold | Do you own gold? | Money you put down | Can you go short? | Main costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical bars or coins | Yes | The full value | No | Dealer mark-up, storage, insurance |
| Gold ETF | You own fund units backed by gold | The full value | Not usually | Fund fee, broker fees |
| Gold futures | You hold an exchange contract | A margin deposit | Yes | Exchange and broker fees, rolling to new expiries |
| Gold CFD (XAUUSD) | No, you hold a contract with your broker | A margin deposit | Yes | Spread, commission on some accounts, overnight swap |
The rest of this guide covers gold CFDs. If contracts for difference are new to you, start with what CFD trading is, which works through a gold trade alongside a forex and an index trade, and see going long and short for how selling first works.
How do you place a gold trade on MT5?
To place a gold trade on MT5, add XAUUSD to Market Watch, read its Specification, press F9 to open the New Order window, enter the volume and your stop loss and take profit, then click Buy or Sell. The open position appears in the Trade tab of the Toolbox, where you modify or close it.
- Add the symbol. If XAUUSD is not in Market Watch, right-click the list, choose Symbols, search for XAU and click Show. Some accounts name it GOLD or add a suffix.
- Read the specification. Right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch and choose Specification. The MT5 Market Watch help lists what it shows: the contract size (ounces per lot), the tick size (the smallest price step), swap long and short for each weekday, the trading sessions and the margin settings.
- Open the order window. Press F9, or right-click XAUUSD and choose New Order, as the MT5 help on executing trades describes.
- Set the size. Type the volume in lots, for example 0.01 for 1 ounce on a 100-ounce contract.
- Set your exits. Enter a stop loss price, which closes the position at a level you choose below a buy (or above a sell), and a take profit price at your target.
- Choose the direction. Click Buy if you expect the gold price to rise, Sell if you expect it to fall.
- Manage and close. In the Toolbox Trade tab, the Profit column shows the running result. Right-click to modify the stop loss and take profit, or double-click and press Close.
To enter at a set price instead of now, set Type to Pending Order and choose Buy Limit, Sell Limit, Buy Stop or Sell Stop, as pending orders on MT5 explains. The full first-trade walkthrough, including the mobile app, is in place your first trade on MT5.
How much is one lot of gold, and what is a point worth?
The value of a gold price move is ounces held × the change in price in dollars, and the number of ounces is lots × the contract size. Many brokers set one lot of gold at 100 troy ounces; your Specification window shows the contract size for your account.
Brokers use the words pip and point differently for gold. Some call a $0.01 move a point, others call $0.10 a pip. Working in dollars per ounce keeps the maths the same on every platform. For forex pairs, pips are explained in lots, pips and pip value.
With a contract size of 100 ounces per lot:
| Size | Ounces | Value of a $0.01 move | Value of a $1.00 move | Value of a $10.00 move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | 100 | $1.00 | $100 | $1,000 |
| 0.10 lot | 10 | $0.10 | $10 | $100 |
| 0.01 lot | 1 | $0.01 | $1 | $10 |
The pip value calculator does this arithmetic for any symbol once you enter its contract size and price step.
How much money do you need to trade gold?
The margin a gold CFD needs is the position's full value divided by the leverage: ounces × price ÷ leverage. A 0.01 lot is 1 ounce, so at 1:100 and a gold price of 4,000.00 it needs $40 of margin, and at 1:20 it needs $200. The table shows the common sizes at that price:
| Size | Ounces | Position value | Margin at 1:20 | Margin at 1:100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.01 lot | 1 | $4,000 | $200 | $40 |
| 0.10 lot | 10 | $40,000 | $2,000 | $400 |
| 1.00 lot | 100 | $400,000 | $20,000 | $4,000 |
Profit and loss are always worked out on the full position value, whatever the margin. The rest of your balance is free margin, which carries the position through price moves and pays for new trades. How margin level and stop-out work is covered in leverage and margin and margin call and stop-out. The margin calculator works out the figure for your own size, price and leverage.
Worked example: one gold trade in both directions
You open 0.10 lot (10 ounces) of XAUUSD at 4,000.00 with 1:100 leverage, so $400 of margin is set aside. Each $1 move is worth $10. A buy gains when the price rises and a sell gains when it falls:
| Gold moves to | Change | Buy 0.10 lot | Sell 0.10 lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4,010.00 | +$10.00 | +$100 | −$100 |
| 3,990.00 | −$10.00 | −$100 | +$100 |
| 4,040.00 | +$40.00 | +$400 | −$400 |
| 3,960.00 | −$40.00 | −$400 | +$400 |
Costs come off every row. With a $0.30 spread, the 0.10 lot position costs 10 × $0.30 = $3 to open, so a buy closed the same day at 4,010.00 nets $100 − $3 = $97, and one closed at 3,990.00 nets −$100 − $3 = −$103.
What does it cost to trade gold?
Trading gold as a CFD costs the spread on every trade, a commission on some accounts, and a swap for each night a position stays open. For a 0.10 lot held a week, the worked figures below add up to $3.00 of spread plus $4.20 of swap, so $7.20 before commission.
- Spread. You buy at the higher price and sell at the lower one. With a $0.30 spread, a 0.10 lot position starts 10 × $0.30 = $3 behind. Gold spreads are usually tightest in the busiest hours and wider in quiet hours and around major news.
- Commission. Some accounts charge a fixed amount per lot instead of, or as well as, a wider spread. Your account terms say which applies.
- Swap. Holding past the daily rollover adds or deducts a financing amount, with separate long and short rates in the specification. MT5 sets a swap multiplier for each weekday, and its help pages use a triple charge on Wednesday as the example, to cover the weekend. With a long swap of −$6.00 per lot per night, 0.10 lot held from Monday to the following Monday rolls over five times, one of them triple, so seven nights' charges: 7 × −$0.60 = −$4.20.
For that week-long buy, the total cost is $3.00 spread + $4.20 swap = $7.20 before commission. Each cost is explained, with the formulas, in spread, commission and swap.
What moves the gold price?
The gold price is moved mainly by real (after-inflation) interest rates, the US dollar, demand for safety in bad economic times, and buying by central banks. Several of these can pull in different directions at once, so traders watch them together.
- Real interest rates. Gold pays no interest, so when interest on safe bonds rises after inflation, holding gold costs more in income given up. A Chicago Fed study of what drives gold prices found that a one-percentage-point rise in the ten-year real interest rate went with a 13.1% lower real gold price in its annual data.
- The US dollar. Gold is priced in dollars, so a stronger dollar makes the same ounce dearer for buyers using other currencies, which tends to weigh on demand.
- Safe-haven demand. The same Chicago Fed study found gold prices rose with consumer pessimism about the economy, and that from 2001 onwards long-term real rates and that pessimism were the dominant factors.
- Central-bank buying. Central banks hold gold as part of their reserves. The World Gold Council reported that central banks and other institutions bought 1,092.4 tonnes in 2024 and 863.3 tonnes in 2025, and that their buying had exceeded 1,000 tonnes for the third year in a row in 2024.
- Scheduled data and rate decisions. US inflation figures, jobs data and central-bank rate decisions change expectations for interest rates and the dollar, so gold often moves sharply when they are released. See NFP, CPI, GDP and rate decisions and central banks and currencies.
Gold's drivers are compared with those of oil and crypto in what moves commodity and crypto prices.
When is the best time to trade gold?
Gold is usually most liquid when the London and New York markets are open together, about 13:00 to 17:00 UTC when the UK and US are on winter time and about 12:00 to 16:00 UTC in their summer. Busy hours bring tighter spreads and more movement; quiet hours bring wider spreads.
| Overlap | UTC | UTC+1 (West and Central Africa) | UTC+2 (Southern Africa) | UTC+7 (mainland Southeast Asia) | UTC+8 (maritime Southeast Asia and East Asia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK and US winter time | 13:00 to 17:00 | 14:00 to 18:00 | 15:00 to 19:00 | 20:00 to 00:00 | 21:00 to 01:00 |
| UK and US summer time | 12:00 to 16:00 | 13:00 to 17:00 | 14:00 to 18:00 | 19:00 to 23:00 | 20:00 to 00:00 |
London is the centre of the gold market. The World Gold Council estimates that the London over-the-counter market handles about 70% of global notional trading volume, and that London, US futures and the Shanghai Gold Exchange together make up more than 90%. It also notes London's time-zone advantage, bridging Asian and US trading hours. Across all venues, gold trading averaged about US$361 billion a day in 2025, so liquidity in gold is deep through the main sessions.
Gold CFDs trade almost around the clock on weekdays, with a short daily break and a weekend close; the exact hours are in the Sessions part of the symbol's specification. The UK and US change their clocks on different weekends, so for a week or two each spring and autumn the overlap shifts; the full table is in forex market sessions. US jobs and inflation figures come out at 8:30 a.m. New York time, inside the overlap, and gold's volatility jumps when they do.
How do you size a gold trade?
Size a gold trade from the amount you choose to risk and the distance to your stop: lots = money at risk ÷ (stop distance in dollars × ounces per lot). The stop distance is measured in dollars of gold price, and one lot is 100 ounces, so a $10 stop on 1 lot is worth $1,000.
Example: a $2,000 account, 1% risk per trade ($20), and a stop loss $10.00 below a buy at 4,000.00. With 100 ounces per lot, a $10 move on 1 lot is worth $1,000, so the size is $20 ÷ $1,000 = 0.02 lot (2 ounces). With a take profit $20.00 above the entry:
- If the price falls to the stop at 3,990.00, the result is 2 × −$10 = −$20.
- If the price rises to the target at 4,020.00, the result is 2 × $20 = +$40.
A stop loss becomes a market order when its price is reached. If gold reopens after the weekend or the daily break beyond your stop, it fills at the first available price: on the trade above, a reopen at 3,985.00 fills at 2 × −$15 = −$30. See slippage, gaps and fills around news.
The method is set out in position sizing, and the position size calculator does the arithmetic once you enter your symbol's contract size.
Try it on demo
In MetaTrader 5 on a demo account, open the XAUUSD specification and write down the contract size, tick size, swap long and short, the triple-swap day and the trading sessions. Then open 0.01 lot with a stop loss and take profit, watch the Profit column change by $1 for each $1 move, and close the position. Compare the spread during the London and New York overlap with the spread late in the evening.
Frequently asked questions
Can you trade gold 24 hours a day?
Almost, on weekdays. Gold CFDs trade nearly around the clock from Monday to Friday, with a short daily break and a weekend close. The exact sessions are in the symbol's specification on your platform.
How much is one lot of gold?
Many brokers set one lot at 100 troy ounces, so each $1 move in the gold price is worth $100 on 1 lot, $10 on 0.10 lot and $1 on 0.01 lot. Your platform's specification shows the contract size for your account.
How much money do you need to start trading gold?
The margin for your smallest position is ounces × price ÷ leverage. At a price of 4,000.00, 0.01 lot (1 ounce) needs $40 of margin at 1:100 or $200 at 1:20, plus free margin to carry the position through price moves.
Is trading gold the same as investing in gold?
No. Investing in physical gold or a gold ETF means owning gold, or fund units backed by it, usually for a long time. Trading a gold CFD means holding a leveraged contract on the price, usually for a short time, with swap charged or credited for each night it stays open.
Why is gold called a safe haven?
Because demand for gold tends to rise in bad economic times. A Chicago Fed study found gold prices rose with consumer pessimism about the economy, and that from 2001 real interest rates and that pessimism were the dominant drivers.
Sources
- LBMA, LBMA Gold Price (accessed 27 October 2026): the gold benchmark is set twice daily, at 10:30 and 15:00 London time, in US dollars per troy ounce. https://www.lbma.org.uk/prices-and-data/lbma-gold-price/lbma-gold-price
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Market Watch (accessed 27 October 2026): adding symbols through the Symbols window; the symbol Specification window shows contract size, tick size, swap long and short with weekday multipliers (Wednesday triple swap as the example), trading sessions and margin settings. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/market_watch
- MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help: Executing Trades, accessed 19 October 2026: opening the New Order window with F9 or the New Order command; the symbol, type, volume, stop loss and take profit fields; Buy and Sell; pending order types. https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/performing_deals
- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Robert Barsky, Craig Epstein, Adrian Lafont-Mueller and Younggeun Yoo, What Drives Gold Prices?, Chicago Fed Letter No. 464, November 2021: a one-point rise in the ten-year real interest rate went with a 13.1% lower real gold price in annual data; gold prices rose with economic pessimism; from 2001, real rates and pessimism were the dominant factors; findings are correlations, not causation. https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/chicago-fed-letter/2021/464
- World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends: Q4 and Full Year 2025, 29 January 2026: central banks and other institutions bought 863.3 tonnes in 2025, down 21% from 1,092.4 tonnes in 2024. https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-full-year-2025
- World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends: Full Year 2024, 5 February 2025: central bank buying exceeded 1,000 tonnes for the third year in a row. https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/gold-demand-trends/gold-demand-trends-full-year-2024
- World Gold Council, The Global Gold Market (market structure page, accessed 19 October 2026): the London OTC market is about 70% of global notional trading volume; London OTC, US futures and the Shanghai Gold Exchange together exceed 90%; London bridges Asian and US trading hours. https://www.gold.org/gold-market-structure/global-gold-market
- World Gold Council, Gold as a strategic asset: 2026 edition, Key attributes: Liquidity, 4 February 2026: gold trading averaged about US$361 billion per day in 2025. https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/relevance-of-gold-as-a-strategic-asset/key-attributes-liquidity
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