The short answer
A gold Monday gap is the jump between Friday’s closing price and the first price when the market reopens on Sunday evening. On 109 normal weekends of real COMEX gold futures data (June 2024 to October 2026), the median gap was $4.70 (about 0.14%), but 42 weekends gapped $10 or more, 21 gapped $20 or more and 6 gapped $50 or more. The biggest was $116.30 on 1 March 2026.
Gaps have grown with the gold price and with the news flow: the median was $1.25 in 2024, $4.75 in 2025 and $15.80 in 2026 so far. A normal stop-loss does not protect you from a gap, so weekend risk has to be managed with size, not hope.
How we measured it
- Data: COMEX gold futures (GC=F) hourly bars from Yahoo Finance, Sunday 16 June 2024 to Sunday 25 October 2026.
- Gap: the open of the first bar on Sunday at 6:00 pm New York time minus the close of Friday’s last bar at 5:00 pm.
- Included: 109 normal weekends. We left out 15 irregular ones: holiday weekends (Good Friday, US holiday Mondays, early closes) and one with missing data.
- Caveat: futures sit a little away from spot XAUUSD and the continuous series changes contract every couple of months, so your broker’s gaps will be similar but not identical. See spot gold vs gold futures.
The numbers
| Measure | All 109 weekends | Last 12 months (43) |
|---|---|---|
| Median gap (either direction) | $4.70 | $12.40 |
| Average gap | $13.20 | $23.66 |
| Gaps of $20 or more | 21 | 16 |
| Gaps of $50 or more | 6 | 5 |
| Gapped up / down | 52 / 56 (one flat) |
| Year | Weekends | Median gap | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (from June) | 28 | $1.25 | $11.60 |
| 2025 | 46 | $4.75 | $55.70 |
| 2026 (to 25 Oct) | 35 | $15.80 | $116.30 |
The largest gaps in the sample
| Sunday | Friday close | Sunday open | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 2026 | $5,247.90 | $5,364.20 | +$116.30 (+2.2%) |
| 14 Jun 2026 | $4,238.80 | $4,325.60 | +$86.80 (+2.0%) |
| 12 Apr 2026 | $4,771.00 | $4,688.70 | −$82.30 (−1.7%) |
| 22 Feb 2026 | $5,080.90 | $5,157.00 | +$76.10 (+1.5%) |
| 19 Apr 2026 | $4,879.60 | $4,813.40 | −$66.20 (−1.4%) |
| 19 Oct 2025 | $4,213.30 | $4,269.00 | +$55.70 (+1.3%) |
| 11 May 2025 | $3,329.10 | $3,281.00 | −$48.10 (−1.4%) |
Gaps went both ways almost equally often. You cannot assume the weekend will help a long or hurt a short.
Why gold gaps over the weekend
The market closes at 5:00 pm New York time on Friday, but the world doesn’t. Geopolitical events, government statements, elections and central bank comments can all land on a Saturday. When gold reopens at 6:00 pm on Sunday, the first price reflects everything that happened in the 49 hours between, all at once. There is no trading in between, so nothing fills at the prices in the gap.
The opening minutes are also thin: spreads are wide and prices can jump around before Asian liquidity arrives. Read why gold spreads widen at rollover for the daily version of the same problem.
Do gold gaps fill?
“Gaps always fill” is one of the most repeated lines in trading. We checked it on the 42 weekends with a gap of $10 or more, counting a gap as filled when price traded back to Friday’s close:
| Filled within | Weekends | Share |
|---|---|---|
| The first hour after the open | 11 | 26% |
| 24 hours | 27 | 64% |
| The same trading week | 34 | 81% |
| Not filled that week | 8 | 19% |
So most large gaps did come back to Friday’s close within the week, but a quarter filled in the first hour and almost one in five didn’t fill at all that week. Several of the unfilled ones were big: the $76.10 gap on 22 February 2026 and the $48.10 gap on 11 May 2025 kept running. A trade that bets on a fill needs a stop like any other trade, and the sample is small. Treat it as a tendency to test, not a rule.
What a gap does to your account
Real example: on 1 March 2026 the gap was $116.30. Suppose you were short 0.10 lot (10 ounces) with a stop $20 above Friday’s close.
- Planned loss at the stop: $20 × 10 oz = $200.
- Actual fill near the open: $116.30 × 10 oz = about $1,163, before spread and slippage.
| Gap through your stop | 0.01 lot | 0.05 lot | 0.10 lot | 0.50 lot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12.40 (12-month median) | $12 | $62 | $124 | $620 |
| $50 | $50 | $250 | $500 | $2,500 |
| $116.30 (largest) | $116 | $582 | $1,163 | $5,815 |
If that loss drops your margin level below the stop-out level, the broker closes positions at the open; see margin call and stop-out on gold. Check what a gap means for your size with the gold pip calculator.
A normal stop-loss is not a guaranteed price. If gold opens beyond it, it fills at the first available price. Over a weekend that can be several times your planned loss.
How to manage positions over the weekend: step-by-step
- Decide by Friday lunchtime (New York) whether the trade stays open. Short-term trades usually have no reason to hold.
- Size for the gap, not just the stop. Ask: “If gold opened $100 against me, could I accept the loss?” If not, reduce size. The position size calculator shows the lot for any risk.
- Check the weekend’s news risk. Elections, summits and conflict headlines raise the odds of a big gap. The gold economic calendar covers scheduled events.
- Count the swap. Holding through Wednesday or the weekend costs extra financing; see XAUUSD spread and swap costs.
- Don’t leave pending orders near Friday’s close unless you are happy to be filled at a gap price.
- Wait at the Sunday open. Let spreads settle before you act. The market hours tool shows the open in your time zone.
How to prevent gap damage
- Keep total weekend exposure small: one position, smaller size, wider stop.
- Keep free margin high so a gap cannot trigger a stop-out.
- Journal every weekend you hold: gap size, direction, what you lost or gained. After 20 weekends you will know whether holding pays for you.
- Read does gold trade on weekends for the full weekend timetable and holiday dates.
More quick fixes are in gold trading problems solved.
Plan your weekends with other traders
In the XAUUSD Global community traders talk through weekend risk on Fridays and review the Sunday open together. The first month is free, then $19.99 a month.
Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss. Data: COMEX gold futures (GC=F) hourly bars, Yahoo Finance; your broker’s spot prices and gaps will differ slightly.
Frequently asked questions
How big is a typical gold Monday gap?
On 109 normal weekends from June 2024 to October 2026 of COMEX gold futures data, the median gap between Friday’s close and Sunday’s open was $4.70, about 0.14% of the price. The average was $13.20, pulled up by a few large gaps. In the last 12 months the median was $12.40.
What was the biggest weekend gap in gold?
In our sample the largest was on Sunday 1 March 2026: gold futures closed Friday at $5,247.90 and opened Sunday at $5,364.20, a gap of $116.30 or 2.2%. Five other weekends in 2025 and 2026 gapped by $55 or more.
Do gold gaps always fill?
No. Of the 42 weekends in our data with a gap of $10 or more, 27 traded back to Friday’s close within 24 hours and 34 within the same week, but 8 did not fill that week, including the $76.10 gap on 22 February 2026. Treat ‘gaps fill’ as a tendency to test, not a rule.
Will my stop-loss protect me from a Monday gap?
Only partly. If price opens beyond your stop, the stop becomes a market order and fills at the first available price, which can be far past your level. On 0.10 lot, a $50 gap through your stop adds $500 to the loss.
What time does the Monday gap happen?
At the weekly open, 6:00 pm New York time on Sunday. That is 22:00 UTC in US summer and 23:00 UTC in winter, or early Monday morning in Asia, the Middle East and India.
Are gold gaps getting bigger?
In our data, yes. The median weekend gap was $1.25 in the second half of 2024, $4.75 in 2025 and $15.80 so far in 2026. Part of that is the higher gold price and part is a more news-heavy, volatile market.
Sources and further reading
- CME Group — Gold futures overview — Contract specifications and trading hours for COMEX gold
- Investor.gov — Stop order — How stop orders work, and their limits in fast markets
External sites are independent of XAUUSD Global. Check dates and data yourself.