XAU/USD: from risk per trade to position size
XAU/USD is quoted as US dollars per troy ounce, so the price you see is the dollar value of one ounce. A standard lot represents a fixed multiple of ounces, which means the notional value of a position is the ounce price multiplied by that multiple. The calculator above does that multiplication for you and returns a lot size that matches your risk amount.
The consequence is that your pip value in your account currency is not fixed. If your account is denominated in something other than the US dollar, the dollar-denominated pip value has to be converted at the prevailing rate, so the same lot size carries a different risk in your home currency as the dollar moves. That conversion is the step most position size errors come from, and it is why the calculator asks for your account currency rather than assuming one.
| Instrument class | Spot gold |
|---|---|
| One pip | 0.01 |
| Standard lot | 100 troy ounces |
| Value of one pip per lot | $1.00 |
| Typical spread | 30 pips — · FxPro verified |
| Notional value of one lot | — |
| Margin on one lot at 1:30 / 1:100 / 1:500 | — |
The last two rows move with the market and are filled in from the live rate; everything above them is fixed by the contract. Leverage available to you depends on your regulator and account type — check it in the platform before you size a position.
What you are really sizing on XAU/USD
Gold pays no yield, so the opportunity cost of holding it is the real yield on offer elsewhere. When real yields rise, gold becomes relatively less attractive and the dollar often strengthens alongside; when real yields fall, the reverse tends to happen. The Federal Reserve sits at the centre of that chain because its policy path drives the real yield outlook, and the US dollar is the currency gold is priced in, so a stronger dollar mechanically pressures the gold price and a weaker dollar supports it.
Those three — the Federal Reserve, real yields and the US dollar — are the drivers that matter most for XAU/USD. They interact rather than act alone: a hawkish Fed surprise can lift real yields and the dollar at the same time, which is why gold can move sharply on a single release and why your stop distance in ounces can be hit faster than the same dollar risk on a major currency pair.
| Currency | Central bank | Policy rate | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| XAU | No issuer | Priced in USD | real US yields · FOMC · fund flows |
| USD | Federal Reserve (Fed) | Federal funds target range | FOMC · CPI · jobs data |
Session timing and execution risk
Liquidity is deepest when the London and New York sessions overlap, and it thins out noticeably in the late New York session and through the Asian session. Around the London fix and during major US data releases, spreads can widen and slippage on stops becomes more likely, so the lot size that looked right in quiet conditions may be too large when the book is thin. Size for the session you are actually trading, not for the best-case spread.
Before entering, check whether a Fed communication, a real-yield move or a dollar index swing is already in play, because those are the conditions that turn a normal stop into a gap. Confirm the ounce-to-lot multiple your broker uses, since it can differ from the standard, and make sure the calculator's account-currency conversion reflects the pair you actually convert through. If the resulting lot size is below your broker's minimum, the trade is telling you the stop is too wide for the risk you have set.
Spreads are tightest when two sessions are open at once and widest when one desk has gone home and the next has not arrived. The shaded band is the overlap.
Pip values sourced from ECB reference data (Frankfurter API). All values are indicative and for educational purposes — not live trading quotes. See full pip value table →