Gold’s trading week at a glance
Spot gold trades from Sunday 6:00 pm to Friday 5:00 pm New York time, with a one-hour daily break at 5:00–6:00 pm New York time. Everything else follows from those New York times, which is why the hours shift when US clocks change.
The table below uses winter times, from November 1, 2026 (US on Eastern Standard Time, UK on GMT, Sydney on summer time). Hours can vary slightly by broker.
| Event | GMT / London | New York | Dubai | Singapore | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open | Sun 23:00 | Sun 18:00 | Mon 03:00 | Mon 07:00 | Mon 10:00 |
| Asian session | 00:00–09:00 | 19:00–04:00 | 04:00–13:00 | 08:00–17:00 | 11:00–20:00 |
| London open | 08:00 | 03:00 | 12:00 | 16:00 | 19:00 |
| US data (8:30 am NY) | 13:30 | 08:30 | 17:30 | 21:30 | 00:30 (next day) |
| London–NY overlap | 13:00–17:00 | 08:00–12:00 | 17:00–21:00 | 21:00–01:00 | 00:00–04:00 |
| LBMA gold price (PM) | 15:00 | 10:00 | 19:00 | 23:00 | 02:00 |
| Fed decision (2:00 pm NY) | 19:00 | 14:00 | 23:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 |
| Daily break | 22:00–23:00 | 17:00–18:00 | 02:00–03:00 | 06:00–07:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Weekly close | Fri 22:00 | Fri 17:00 | Sat 02:00 | Sat 06:00 | Sat 09:00 |
Using Mumbai time? See our India-specific guide in IST. Anywhere else, the Gold Market Hours tool shows each session in your own time zone automatically.
What gold usually does in each session
Asian session (Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney). Usually the quietest. Gold often builds a range, with flows from Chinese and Indian physical demand and Asian central banks. Ranges set here often become the targets for the London open.
London open. The London bullion market is the world’s biggest hub for physical gold. When it opens, liquidity jumps and gold often makes its first real move of the day, frequently by pushing through one side of the Asian range first, sometimes as a stop run. Read the London session guide.
New York and the overlap. Major US data at 8:30 am New York time, the COMEX futures open and the overlap with London make this the most active part of the day. If you can trade only one window, this is usually the one. See the New York session guide.
Late US session. Activity fades after London closes. Moves can still happen on Fed days or late headlines, but liquidity thins out.
The times to be careful
- The daily break and the hour around it. Spreads widen sharply as brokers roll positions over.
- The Sunday open. Price can gap from Friday’s close on weekend news, and spreads are wide for the first minutes.
- The first minutes after big US data such as the jobs report, CPI or the Fed decision.
- Holidays. US and UK bank holidays thin out liquidity and can cause sudden spikes.
How the clock changes shift everything
Gold’s hours are set by New York, so they move when US clocks change:
- US summer time (second Sunday of March to first Sunday of November): everything happens one hour earlier in GMT and in places without daylight saving, such as Dubai, Singapore and India. The weekly open is Sunday 22:00 GMT and US data is at 12:30 GMT.
- US winter time (from November 1, 2026): the times in the table above apply.
- The mismatch weeks. Europe and the US change on different dates. In late October and in March there are short periods when London and New York are four hours apart instead of five. For example, from October 25 to November 1, 2026, US data lands at 12:30 GMT while London is already on winter time.
- Southern hemisphere. Sydney moves its clocks in the opposite direction (forward in October, back in April), so Sydney times shift by up to two hours across the year.
If your platform shows “server time”, check which time zone your broker uses. Many use GMT+2 in winter and GMT+3 in summer, so that daily candles close at 5:00 pm New York time.
Pick one window and own it
You don’t need to trade every session. Choose the window that fits your day, whether that’s the London open from Dubai, the overlap from London, or the US session in the evening in Singapore, and learn how gold behaves there. Track every trade in a trading journal to see which hours actually work for you.
Sources and further reading
- LBMA: LBMA Gold Price
- CME Group: Gold futures trading hours
- London vs New York sessions: what gold traders should understand
Educational content only, not financial advice. Session times are approximate and vary by broker. Trading leveraged products carries a high risk of loss.
Frequently asked questions
What are gold trading hours?
Spot gold (XAUUSD) trades from Sunday 6:00 pm to Friday 5:00 pm New York time, with a short daily break from 5:00 to 6:00 pm New York time. In GMT that is Sunday 23:00 to Friday 22:00 during the northern winter. Exact hours vary slightly by broker.
What is the best time to trade gold?
For most traders, the London open (08:00 GMT in winter) and the London–New York overlap (about 13:00–17:00 GMT in winter) bring the most volume and the biggest moves. Major US data at 8:30 am New York time (13:30 GMT in winter) adds sharp but risky moves.
Is the gold market open on weekends?
No. Spot gold closes on Friday at 5:00 pm New York time and reopens on Sunday at 6:00 pm New York time. Prices can gap at the Sunday open if there is major weekend news.
Sources and further reading
- CME Group — Gold futures overview — Contract specifications and trading hours for COMEX gold
- CFTC — Commitments of Traders — Weekly futures positioning, including 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.