One lot is a hundred ounces
A standard lot of XAUUSD is 100 ounces, not 100,000 units. Price is quoted to two decimals, so a move from 2,400.00 to 2,401.00 is 100 points and, on a standard lot, one hundred dollars. On a micro lot of 0.01 the same move is one dollar. Nothing about that is difficult; what catches people is that the numbers are unfamiliar, so the arithmetic they had ready for EUR/USD gives an answer that is wrong by a factor they do not notice until the position is open.
A quiet day here is a violent day there
Gold routinely covers two thousand points in a day. On EUR/USD a hundred-pip day is a busy one. Same platform, same buttons, a range that can be ten or twenty times larger — and a stop measured in the habits of a major pair is a stop that gets hit by the ordinary breathing of this one. This is the single reason most beginners lose money faster on gold than anywhere else: not the analysis, the size.
The spread is wider, and it moves
Gold typically costs two to five times what a major pair costs to enter, and the spread widens sharply around the New York open, around releases, and in the thin hours. On a method aiming at small targets that difference alone decides whether it is profitable. Check the spread on your own broker at the hour you actually trade, not the number on the marketing page.
Nobody is delivering you gold
Spot XAUUSD at a retail broker is a contract whose value tracks the gold price. There is no vault, no bar, no delivery. That matters because the price you see is your broker’s price, financing is charged as swap on positions held overnight, and gold swap is often notably negative on the long side. Holding a long for weeks costs money quietly.
Why size is the whole lesson
Everything else in this course applies to gold unchanged — levels are levels, structure is structure. The one thing that must change is position size, because the stop distance is larger. Work the size out from the risk and the stop, as always, and the number that comes out will look small next to what you use on a currency pair. That is correct. It is the same money at risk.
In short
| One standard lot | 100 ounces |
|---|---|
| Quoted to | Two decimals |
| Typical daily range | Hundreds of times a major pair’s pip |
| Spread | Wider, and it widens further on news |
| Overnight | Swap, often negative on longs |
Common questions
Is gold good for beginners?
It is the hardest of the popular instruments to start on, because the same stop that is sensible on a major pair is noise here. If you trade it, trade it small and work the size out rather than copying a lot size from elsewhere.
Why is the spread so much wider?
Fewer participants than the major currency pairs and a more volatile instrument. It also widens further around releases, which is exactly when people want to trade it.
Does gold always rise when there is trouble?
Often, not always, and not on any schedule. Gold rose through some crises and fell through others, and buying it because of a headline is a trade with no level and no stop.
Trading forex and CFDs on margin carries a high level of risk. Most retail accounts lose money. Nothing on this page is financial advice or a recommendation to trade.