LemonTrades
TL;DR
- XAU/USD is the price of one troy ounce of gold in US dollars, quoted like a currency pair.
- A standard lot is usually 100 ounces, so a $1 move is $100 per lot.
- It trades almost around the clock, busiest in the London–New York overlap.
- Follow gold on LemonTrades and the desk tells you what moved it, and why, within seconds: breaking news, sharp moves with the likely cause, and a morning brief.
XAUUSD (or XAU/USD) is the price of one troy ounce of gold in US dollars. It’s how gold is quoted on trading platforms, written like a currency pair.
What the letters mean
- XAU is the international code for one troy ounce of gold. “Au” comes from aurum, Latin for gold, and the X marks it as something other than a country’s currency.
- USD is the US dollar.
The same codes cover the other precious metals: XAG is silver, XPT platinum and XPD palladium. So XAG/USD is the price of an ounce of silver in dollars. Gold is also quoted in other currencies, like XAU/EUR or XAU/JPY.
How to read a XAU/USD quote
Like any currency pair, the first part is what you’re buying or selling, and the second is what you’re paying with. A quote of 4,150.25 means one ounce of gold costs $4,150.25.
- Buying XAU/USD means buying gold and selling dollars: you gain if gold rises.
- Selling means the opposite: you gain if gold falls.
- You’ll see two prices: the bid (what you can sell at) and the slightly higher ask (what you can buy at). The gap is the spread, the broker’s cut.
Lots, points and pips
- A standard lot of XAU/USD is usually 100 ounces, so a $1 move in gold is $100 per lot. A 0.01 lot is 1 ounce, worth $1 per $1 move. Brokers can differ, so check the contract details.
- Gold is quoted to two decimals. Traders say gold “moved $20” or “moved 2,000 points”. Some platforms call $0.01 a point and $0.10 a pip, which is why pip counts for gold can look huge.
XAU/USD vs gold futures vs gold ETFs
- XAU/USD is the spot price, for delivery now. Overseas brokers offer it as a CFD with leverage; in the US it isn’t offered to retail traders. See how to trade XAU/USD in the USA.
- Gold futures (COMEX code GC) are contracts for later delivery, and trade a little above spot. See the future for gold.
- Gold ETFs like GLD are fund shares that hold gold bars. See how gold ETFs work.
What moves XAU/USD
Interest rates, the dollar, the Fed, inflation, fear and big buyers like central banks. Because gold is priced in dollars, a weaker dollar usually means a higher XAU/USD. We explain each in why gold goes up and why it drops.
When XAU/USD trades
Almost around the clock: from Sunday evening to Friday at 5:00 PM ET, with a short break each afternoon. It’s busiest when London and New York overlap, 8:00 AM to noon ET, and it jumps on US data at 8:30 AM ET.
Education, not financial advice. Trading XAU/USD with leverage is risky. See our disclaimer.
