Gold reopens at 6:00 pm New York time on Sunday 1 November, which is 23:00 GMT and 04:30 IST on Monday, one hour later than last week, because US clocks go back that morning. It reopens after a 3.3% fall on Friday to a 2026 low of $3,879.3 in COMEX futures, with the October jobs report, the US midterm elections and two ISM surveys still to come. Our data on 109 weekends shows the median gold Monday gap in 2026 is $15.80, and gaps go up as often as down.
The short plan: decide what you hold before the close, size for a gap and for a $75 day, and don’t trade the first minutes of the reopen. The rest of this page has the numbers behind it.
Where gold starts the weekend
| Measure (COMEX futures, Yahoo Finance) | Value |
|---|---|
| Friday 30 Oct settlement | $3,898.9 |
| Friday’s change | −$132.5 (−3.29%) |
| Friday’s range | $3,879.3–4,038.2 ($158.9) |
| The week’s change | −$109.0 (−2.72%) |
| October’s change | −$287.8 (−6.87%) |
| 14-day average true range | $74.9 |
| 20-day average daily range | $69.7 |
Friday’s range was more than twice the 20-day average. When gold closes a week like that near its low, the weekend leaves traders no chance to adjust positions until Sunday evening, and any news in between is priced in all at once. Our October 2026 review explains what drove the fall.
The clock change trap: everything shifts one hour from Sunday
US daylight saving time ends at 2:00 am on Sunday 1 November 2026 and New York moves from UTC−4 to UTC−5. The UK and Europe already changed on 25 October, and India, the Gulf and most of Asia don’t change at all. So for one week the gap between London and New York was four hours; from Sunday it is five again.
For anyone outside North America, every gold time that is set in New York moves one hour later:
| Moment (New York time) | Last week (GMT / IST) | From 1 Nov (GMT / IST) |
|---|---|---|
| Friday weekly close, 5:00 pm | 21:00 / 02:30 Sat | 22:00 / 03:30 Sat |
| Sunday reopen, 6:00 pm | 22:00 / 03:30 Mon | 23:00 / 04:30 Mon |
| Daily break, 5:00–6:00 pm | 21:00–22:00 / 02:30–03:30 | 22:00–23:00 / 03:30–04:30 |
| US data, 8:30 am | 12:30 / 18:00 | 13:30 / 19:00 |
| ISM, 10:00 am | 14:00 / 19:30 | 15:00 / 20:30 |
The trap is simple. Alarms, pending orders with time limits and EAs that trade at fixed server times can all be an hour off on Monday. Many brokers also move their server clocks so that the daily candle still starts at the New York close, which means your platform may jump one hour this weekend. Check it before Monday. Our full US clock change trading times guide has 16 time zones, and the gold market hours tool shows the live session in yours.
What our Monday-gap data says
Our gold Monday gap study measured the jump from Friday’s 5:00 pm close to Sunday’s 6:00 pm open on 109 normal weekends of COMEX gold futures data (June 2024 to 25 October 2026):
| Measure | All 109 weekends | Last 12 months (43) |
|---|---|---|
| Median gap | $4.70 | $12.40 |
| Average gap | $13.20 | $23.66 |
| Gaps of $20 or more | 21 | 16 |
| Gaps of $50 or more | 6 | 5 |
Three findings matter for this weekend:
- Gaps are bigger in 2026. The median gap was $1.25 in late 2024, $4.75 in 2025 and $15.80 in 2026 so far. In the last 12 months, 16 of 43 weekends gapped $20 or more, more than one in three.
- The direction is a coin toss. 52 gaps were up, 56 down and one flat. A weak Friday does not tell you which way Sunday opens.
- Big gaps don’t always fill. Of 42 weekends with a gap of $10 or more, 11 filled in the first hour, 27 within 24 hours and 34 within the week, but 8 never filled that week.
The largest gaps of 2026 in the study were +$116.30 (1 March), +$86.80 (14 June) and −$82.30 (12 April). Each one went straight past any normal stop-loss.
A stop-loss is not a guaranteed price. If gold opens beyond your stop on Sunday, it fills at the first available price. On 0.10 lot, a $50 gap through your stop adds $500 to your loss.
Why this week has three event risks
| Event | New York time | GMT | IST | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ISM manufacturing (Mon 2 Nov) | 10:00 am | 15:00 | 20:30 | First data after the crash; prices-paid index |
| Midterm results (Tue 3 Nov) | from 6:00 pm | from 23:00 | from 04:30 Wed | Count runs through the Asian session |
| ISM services (Wed 4 Nov) | 10:00 am | 15:00 | 20:30 | Services prices feed Fed expectations |
| Jobs report, NFP (Fri 6 Nov) | 8:30 am | 13:30 | 19:00 | Biggest test of December hike odds |
Election night is the unusual one. US polls start closing at 6:00 pm ET on Tuesday, and the last close at 1:00 am ET (06:00 GMT, 11:30 IST Wednesday). On the 2024 election night, gold’s hourly ranges ran 1.4 to 5.1 times their normal October levels, and gold closed the next day down 2.67%. Our election-night guide has the hour-by-hour data.
NFP is the scheduled big one. On the September report day (2 October), gold futures traded a $105.2 range and closed $40.0 lower. The NFP time page has the release time in 25+ countries after the clock change.
Position sizing into a three-event week
The sizing rule doesn’t change: risk per trade ÷ (stop distance × ounces per lot) = lot size. What changes is the stop distance you need, plus a second test for gaps.
Hypothetical example. A trader with a $10,000 account risks 1% ($100) per trade. One standard lot is 100 oz, so 0.01 lot = 1 oz. - In a calm market with a $25 stop: $100 ÷ ($25 × 1 oz) = 4 micro lots → 0.04 lot. - With a stop sized to about half of today’s $74.9 ATR (about $37): $100 ÷ $37 ≈ 2.7 → 0.02–0.03 lot. - Gap test: if Sunday opened $86.80 through the stop (2026’s second-largest gap), the loss at 0.04 lot would be about $347 (3.5% of the account); at 0.02 lot about $174.
| Gap through your stop | 0.02 lot | 0.04 lot | 0.10 lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15.80 (2026 median) | $32 | $63 | $158 |
| $50 | $100 | $200 | $500 |
| $86.80 (14 Jun 2026) | $174 | $347 | $868 |
| $116.30 (largest, 1 Mar 2026) | $233 | $465 | $1,163 |
Three practical adjustments many traders make in a week like this:
- Lower risk per trade for the week, for example from 1% to 0.5%, so a gap or a news spike stays survivable.
- Count the week’s total risk. Three events means three chances for a spike. If you would hold through all of them, the open risk adds up.
- Keep free margin high. A gap that pushes margin level below the stop-out closes positions at the worst price. See margin call and stop-out on gold.
Run your own numbers in the position size calculator and the gold pip calculator.
Step-by-step weekend plan
- Review what you still hold. Markets are shut until Sunday 23:00 GMT, so any position open now carries the gap risk. Write down the loss at a $50 and a $100 gap.
- Fix the clocks. Reset alarms and any time-based orders or EAs for the new times: 23:00 GMT and 04:30 IST for the reopen, 13:30 GMT and 19:00 IST for US data.
- Check the weekend news on our XAUUSD news page before the open: Gulf shipping, oil and anything on the election.
- Skip the first minutes after the reopen. Spreads are widest when Asian liquidity is thin; see why spreads widen at rollover.
- Mark the gap. Note Friday’s $3,898.9 close and where Sunday opens. Treat a fill back to $3,898.9 as a possible test, not a certainty.
- Plan each event before it happens. ISM Monday, election night Tuesday into Wednesday, NFP Friday. Decide in advance whether you trade, stand aside or close before each one.
- Decide Friday’s hold by lunchtime New York. Next Friday’s close is at 22:00 GMT (03:30 IST Saturday), after NFP. That will be another weekend with fresh news to price.
Plan the week with other traders
In the XAUUSD Global community we go through the Sunday open and each event of the week together, with times posted in your zone. The first month is free, then $19.99 a month.
Sources
- Gold prices and volatility: COMEX gold futures (GC=F) daily data, Yahoo Finance, checked 06:55 GMT on 31 October 2026; average true range and daily range from our market data
- Weekend gap statistics: our gold Monday gap study (GC=F hourly bars, June 2024 to October 2026)
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation release schedule
- Time zone rules: IANA time zone database, computed with Python zoneinfo
- Election-night hourly ranges: our US midterm election night guide
Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.
Frequently asked questions
What time does gold reopen on Sunday 1 November 2026?
At 6:00 pm New York time, as always. US clocks go back at 2:00 am that morning, so 6:00 pm ET is 23:00 GMT, 00:00 in Frankfurt, 03:00 on Monday in Dubai, 04:30 on Monday in India and 07:00 on Monday in Singapore. That is one hour later than last Sunday’s open everywhere outside North America.
How big are gold's Monday gaps?
On 109 normal weekends from June 2024 to October 2026 of COMEX gold futures data, the median gap from Friday’s close to Sunday’s open was $4.70, but it was $15.80 in 2026 so far. 21 weekends gapped $20 or more and 6 gapped $50 or more; the largest was $116.30 on 1 March 2026.
Will gold gap on Monday after Friday's fall?
Nobody can know. Gaps in our data went up and down almost equally often (52 up, 56 down), and a big Friday move does not set the direction of the next open. What a weekend after a volatile week does is raise the chance that something big has to be priced in at once, so plan for a gap either way.
When is the October jobs report after the clock change?
Friday 6 November 2026 at 8:30 am ET, which is 13:30 GMT, 17:30 in Dubai and 19:00 in India. Before the US clock change the same release was at 12:30 GMT and 18:00 IST.
How should I size positions in a week with ISM, midterms and NFP?
Base the size on the stop you need in the current volatility, not on last month’s habits. With gold’s 14-day average true range near $75, many traders cut their usual risk per trade, avoid holding through the election night and NFP unless the trade is planned for it, and check that a $100 gap would not trigger a stop-out.
Do weekend gaps in gold always fill?
No. Of 42 weekends with a gap of $10 or more, 27 traded back to Friday’s close within 24 hours and 34 within the week, but 8 did not fill that week. A gap is a tendency to test, not a rule.