The short answer
Gold has two prices because you trade with a dealer, who quotes a price to buy from you (the bid) and a higher price to sell to you (the ask). You buy at the ask and sell at the bid, so the buy price is always higher. The gap between them is the spread, and it’s the main cost of every gold trade.
On most platforms, including MT4 and MT5, charts show the bid. That’s why a buy shows a small loss as soon as you open it, and why stops on sell trades can trigger before the chart seems to reach them.
Bid, ask and spread in one table
| Term | Meaning | You use it to | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bid | Price the market will pay you | Sell, and close buys | $4,000.00 |
| Ask (offer) | Price the market will charge you | Buy, and close sells | $4,000.25 |
| Spread | Ask minus bid | Your cost to trade | $0.25 |
| Mid | Halfway between | Some charts and data feeds | $4,000.125 |
These are illustrative numbers. Your broker’s spread varies with the time of day and the account type.
Why there are two prices
Spot gold trades over the counter: banks and market makers quote prices to buy and sell at the same moment. The difference pays them for providing liquidity and taking the risk that the price moves before they can offset your trade. Your broker passes those quotes on, often with a mark-up, or charges a separate commission on a tighter spread. Either way, someone always earns the gap, and you pay it once per trade.
What the spread costs you per lot
On most platforms 1 lot of XAUUSD is 100 ounces, so each $0.01 of spread is $1 per lot.
Spread cost = spread in $ × 100 × lots
| Spread | 0.01 lot | 0.10 lot | 1.00 lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0.15 | $0.15 | $1.50 | $15 |
| $0.25 | $0.25 | $2.50 | $25 |
| $0.50 | $0.50 | $5.00 | $50 |
| $2.00 (thin hours, illustrative) | $2.00 | $20.00 | $200 |
If your account also charges commission, add it on top. The gold pip calculator shows what any distance is worth on your size, and our guide to XAUUSD spreads, commissions and swaps covers the full cost picture, including overnight swap.
Why your trade starts in a loss
Worked example (illustrative): bid $4,000.00, ask $4,000.25.
- You buy 0.10 lot at the ask, $4,000.25.
- Your position is valued at the bid, $4,000.00, the price you could sell at.
- Open P/L: −$0.25 × 10 oz = −$2.50 immediately.
- Break-even: the bid must rise to $4,000.25.
A sell works the other way: you sell at the bid, $4,000.00, and close by buying at the ask. Break-even is when the ask falls to $4,000.00.
Which price does your chart show?
| Platform | Default chart price | How to see the other |
|---|---|---|
| MT4 / MT5 | Bid | Right-click → Properties (F8) → tick Show Ask line |
| MT4 / MT5 mobile | Bid | Chart settings → show Ask price line (where available) |
| cTrader | Bid (configurable) | Chart settings |
| TradingView | Depends on the feed: bid, last or mid | Compare with your broker’s order ticket |
Because charts show the bid:
- Long stops and targets are checked against the bid, which you see.
- Short stops and targets are checked against the ask, which you don’t see unless the ask line is on. That’s the cause of most “stop-loss hit but price didn’t touch” complaints.
- Buy limit and buy stop pending orders trigger on the ask; sell limit and sell stop on the bid.
When the gap gets wider
The spread is variable on most accounts. It is usually tightest during the London and New York overlap and widens:
- in the minutes around the 5:00 pm New York rollover, the quietest hour of gold’s day in our hourly data; see gold spread widening at rollover;
- at the Sunday open; see gold Monday gaps;
- around US data and Fed decisions; check the gold economic calendar;
- on holidays and shortened sessions.
Spread accounts vs commission accounts
Brokers charge for the bid-ask gap in two main ways:
| Account style | What you see | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Spread only | Wider spread, no commission | Everything is inside the spread |
| Raw spread + commission | Very tight spread | A small spread plus a fixed commission per lot |
To compare them, convert both into dollars per round-trip lot. Illustrative example: a $0.30 spread costs $30 per lot. A $0.10 spread plus $7 commission per round-trip lot costs $10 + $7 = $17 per lot. The second is cheaper per trade, but only if its spread stays tight at the hours you trade.
Bid and ask outside the screen
The same idea applies everywhere gold is traded. A jeweller or bullion dealer quotes a buy-back price below its selling price, and the gap is usually far wider than a trading spread because it covers storage, making and handling. COMEX futures have a bid and ask too, set by the exchange’s order book, with a tick size of $0.10 per ounce. And the LBMA Gold Price, the benchmark set twice a day in London, is a single auction price, not something you can trade at directly. On your platform, the two numbers in the order ticket are the only prices that matter.
How to use this: step-by-step
- Turn on the ask line on every gold chart.
- Note your normal spread in busy hours and your worst spread at rollover, for a week.
- Include the spread in every plan: break-even is entry plus spread, and short stops need spread room.
- Work out the cost per trade with the gold pip calculator, and include it when you size with the position size calculator.
- Compare spread to your target. A $0.30 spread is small against a $20 target and large against a $2 scalp.
How to avoid spread surprises
- Avoid opening trades in the minutes around rollover and major releases.
- For very short-term trading, track the spread as a share of your average win.
- Know the size of one lot before you trade: how much is 1 lot of gold.
More quick fixes are in gold trading problems solved.
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Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss. Prices and spreads in the examples are illustrative.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the buy price of gold higher than the sell price?
Because the buy price is the ask, the lowest price someone will sell gold to you at, and the sell price is the bid, the highest price someone will buy it from you at. Dealers quote both and earn the difference, the spread. You always buy at the higher price and sell at the lower one.
What is the bid price of gold?
The bid is the price you can sell gold at right now. It is the lower of the two prices. MT4 and MT5 draw their charts from the bid, so the candles you see show bid prices.
What is the ask price of gold?
The ask (or offer) is the price you can buy gold at right now. It is the higher of the two prices. You can show it on MT4 and MT5 charts with Properties (F8) → Show Ask line.
How much does the gold spread cost per lot?
Multiply the spread in dollars by 100 ounces. A $0.20 spread costs $20 per standard lot, $2 per 0.10 lot and $0.20 per 0.01 lot, every time you open a trade. Commission, if your account charges one, is added on top.
Why does my gold trade start in a loss?
Because you buy at the ask but your position is valued at the bid, the price you could sell it at. The gap is the spread. A buy needs the bid to rise by the spread before it reaches break-even; a sell needs the ask to fall by the spread.
Is the spread on gold fixed?
On most accounts it is variable. It is tightest in busy hours, such as the London and New York overlap, and widens at the daily rollover, the Sunday open, on holidays and around big news releases.
Sources and further reading
- MetaTrader 5 Help — Trading operations: basic principles — Order types, and which price (bid or ask) triggers each order and stop
- LBMA — Precious Metal Prices — The LBMA Gold Price benchmark set in London
- CME Group — Gold futures overview — Contract specifications and trading hours for COMEX gold
External sites are independent of XAUUSD Global. Check dates and data yourself.