Key points
- XAU is the international code for gold, USD for the US dollar. A price of 4150.25 means one ounce costs 4,150.25 dollars.
- At most brokers 1 lot = 100 ounces, so a move of 1.00 in price is worth 100 USD per lot.
- You do not own physical gold: you trade a contract with your broker, with leverage, spread and overnight fees.
- Contract size, digits, trading hours and the symbol name differ between brokers. Always check the specification in MT5.
What XAUUSD means
Currency-style codes use three letters. XAU stands for gold (from the Latin aurum, with X used for commodities that are not national currencies), and USD for the US dollar. So XAUUSD is the gold price quoted in dollars per troy ounce, which is about 31.1 grams.
When your MT5 shows XAUUSD at 4150.25 / 4150.45, the first number is the bid (the price you can sell at) and the second the ask (the price you can buy at). The difference, here 0.20, is the spread: the basic cost of every trade.
How you trade gold in MT5
At a retail MT5 broker, XAUUSD is usually a contract for difference (CFD) or a spot contract held with the broker. You never receive a gold bar. Instead you gain or lose the price difference between your entry and your exit:
- Buy if you expect gold to rise: you profit when you close higher than you opened.
- Sell if you expect gold to fall: you profit when you close lower than you opened.
- Leverage means you only put up part of the trade's value as margin. It makes gains and losses bigger in the same way.
Lot size and contract size
The contract size is how many ounces one lot represents. At most brokers it is 100 ounces. That gives these simple numbers:
| Lot | Ounces | Value of a 1.00 move | Value of 1 pip (0.10) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | 100 | 100 USD | 10 USD |
| 0.10 | 10 | 10 USD | 1 USD |
| 0.01 | 1 | 1 USD | 0.10 USD |
Some accounts use other sizes, for example cent accounts. You find the real values in MT5: right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch and choose Specification. To size a trade from your risk, use our free gold lot size calculator or read XAUUSD pip value and lot size.
Margin and leverage, with an example
The value of a trade is price × ounces. With gold at 4,150 and 1 lot of 100 ounces, the trade is worth 415,000 USD. The margin your broker holds depends on your leverage:
| Leverage | Margin for 1 lot | Margin for 0.01 lot |
|---|---|---|
| 1:20 | 20,750 USD | 207.50 USD |
| 1:100 | 4,150 USD | 41.50 USD |
| 1:500 | 830 USD | 8.30 USD |
Higher leverage only lowers the margin. It does not lower the risk: a 10-dollar move against 1 lot still costs 1,000 USD. Regulators in several regions limit gold leverage for private traders; in the EU, for example, the usual retail limit for gold is 1:20.
When gold trades
XAUUSD trades almost around the clock from Monday to Friday, with a short daily break of about an hour around the New York close. Your broker's server time is shown in MT5 and is often GMT+2 or GMT+3. Two moments need care:
- The daily rollover: spreads often widen in the minutes around the break.
- The Monday open: the price can open far from Friday's close (a gap).
Which hours are the most active is explained in the best time to trade gold.
Different names at different brokers
The same instrument can be called XAUUSD, XAUUSDm, XAUUSD.r, XAUUSD+ or GOLD, depending on the broker and account type. The suffix usually stands for a different account type with its own spread or commission. Make sure you add the symbol that belongs to your account to Market Watch.
XAUUSD compared with other ways to own gold
| Way | What you hold | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD at an MT5 broker | A contract with the broker | Short-term trading, both directions, with leverage |
| Gold futures (for example COMEX) | An exchange-traded contract with an expiry date | Professional trading and hedging |
| Gold ETFs | Shares of a fund that holds gold | Investing through a stock account |
| Physical gold | Bars or coins | Long-term saving, no leverage |
What a gold trade costs
- Spread: the gap between bid and ask, paid on every trade.
- Commission: charged per lot on some account types, usually those with tighter spreads.
- Swap: a daily fee (or sometimes a credit) for keeping a trade open overnight.
For short trades the spread matters most. A 2-pip spread is 10% of a 20-pip target, as explained in our gold scalping guide.
Gold Position Manager is an MT5 trade manager made only for XAUUSD. It recognises broker names such as XAUUSDm or XAUUSD.r, reads your broker's contract size and lot step, and works out the lot from the risk you choose. After you open a trade, it places your stop loss, closes the trade in up to 10 take-profit steps and moves the stop loss to break-even. See what it does.
Questions
Is XAUUSD the same as gold?
XAUUSD is the price of gold in US dollars per troy ounce. At an MT5 broker you trade a contract that follows this price; you do not own physical gold.
Can I trade XAUUSD with a small account?
Yes, many brokers allow 0.01 lot, which is 1 ounce: a 1.00 move is worth 1 USD. A small account still needs a stop loss and a small risk per trade, because gold can move several dollars in minutes.
Why is my broker's gold price slightly different from another broker's?
Each broker builds its price from its own liquidity providers and adds its own spread. Small differences, especially in fast markets, are normal.
Sources
This guide is education, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of losing money quickly. The numbers above are examples; check your own broker's specification.