XAUUSD Contract Specifications: Contract Size, Tick Size and Tick Value in MT5, Field by Field

The short answer

On most trading platforms, one standard lot of XAUUSD is 100 troy ounces of gold. So:

• a $0.01 move in the gold price is worth $1 per lot (and $0.01 per 0.01 lot);
• a $1 move is worth $100 per lot, $10 per 0.10 lot and $1 per 0.01 lot.

But 100 ounces is a habit, not a law. Your provider can set a different contract size, a different number of decimals and different margin and swap rules. All of those live in one place: the Specification window of the symbol in MT5. Read it once before your first trade and you will never be surprised by the size of a profit, a loss or an overnight charge.

The one formula to remember:

Money per move = (price change ÷ tick size) × tick value × lots

The rest of this guide explains every line in that window and shows the maths with worked examples.

How to open the Specification window

On MT5 for desktop:

1. Open Market Watch (Ctrl+M if you cannot see it).
2. Find your gold symbol. It may be called XAUUSD, GOLD or have a suffix such as .m or -pro. If you cannot find it, see how to find gold symbols on MT4, MT5 and TradingView.
3. Right-click the symbol and choose Specification.

On the mobile apps the same data usually sits under the symbol’s details screen, but the menu names change between versions. If in doubt, check on desktop.

Important: if your provider offers several versions of gold (for example a standard and a micro symbol, or different account types), each symbol has its own specification. Check the exact one you trade.

Every line, explained in plain words

The table below lists the fields MetaQuotes describes in its help pages, what each one means, and why it matters for gold. Example values are hypothetical, typical of a 2-decimal, 100-ounce gold CFD. Your numbers may differ.

Two fields matter more than the rest because everything else hangs on them: contract size and tick size. Let’s work through them.

Contract size: how many ounces is one lot?

The contract size is “the number of units of the commodity in one lot”, in MetaQuotes’ own words. For gold, the unit is one troy ounce.

Why does this matter? Imagine two traders who both “buy 0.10 lot of gold” and gold rises $20. On a 100-ounce contract, that is 10 ounces × $20 = $200. On a 1-ounce contract, it is 0.1 ounce × $20 = $2. Same words, a hundred times the money. If you copy a lot size from a video, a course or a friend, check that their contract size matches yours.

Cent accounts add one more layer: the balance is shown in cents, so a profit of 200 on screen may be $2. Read the account currency as well as the contract size. Our guide to cent, standard and raw-spread accounts covers this.

For grams, kilos and the value of a lot at today’s price, see how much is 1 lot of gold; this page stays with the specification itself.

Digits, tick size and tick value: what each step is worth

• Digits is how many decimals the price shows. 4,000.25 has 2 digits; 4,000.253 has 3.
• Tick size is the smallest step the price can move. With 2 digits, it is usually 0.01.
• Tick value is what one tick is worth for one lot, in your account currency. MetaQuotes calls it “the cost of a single price change point”.

With a 100-ounce contract and a 0.01 tick, the tick value is 100 × 0.01 = $1 per lot. With 3 digits and a 0.001 tick, the tick value is 100 × 0.001 = $0.10 per lot. The dollar value of a $1 move does not change (it is still $100 per lot); only the number of ticks in it does.

Worked example: from specification to dollars

Hypothetical trade: you buy 0.20 lot at 4,000.00 and sell at 4,012.50, a move of $12.50.

The first two rows show that more decimals do not change your money. The third shows that a smaller contract does. The gold pip calculator does this sum for any lot size, and our notes on points and pips explain why traders argue about the word “pip” on gold.

Volume: the smallest trade you can take

• Volume min is the smallest trade, often 0.01 lot.
• Volume step is the size jump between trades, often 0.01. You cannot place 0.015 if the step is 0.01.
• Volume max is the largest single order.

If you see “Invalid volume” when placing an order, the size you typed breaks one of these three rules. Our MT4 and MT5 error codes list covers the fix.

Why it matters for risk: the minimum volume sets the smallest risk you can take. On a 100-ounce contract, 0.01 lot with a $10 stop risks $10. If your rule is to risk 1% of a $500 account ($5), a $10 stop is too wide at the minimum size, so you either need a tighter stop that still makes sense on the chart or you skip the trade. The position size calculator shows this instantly.

Stops level and freeze level

The stops level is a band around the current price, measured in points, inside which you cannot place a stop-loss, take-profit or pending order. MT5 rejects such an order with “Invalid stops”. A stops level of 20 on a 2-digit gold quote means your stop must be at least $0.20 away from the price.

Some providers also set a freeze level, a band in which existing orders close to the price cannot be changed. On gold these numbers are usually small, but some providers widen them around news. The full fix list is in our guide to invalid stops on gold.

Margin: the deposit each lot needs

MetaQuotes lists several margin calculation modes. For gold CFDs two are common:

• CFD Leverage: margin = lots × contract size × open price ÷ leverage
• Forex: margin = lots × contract size ÷ leverage (converted at the price)

Then the result is multiplied by the margin rate if it is not 1. If a fixed initial margin is set, MT5 uses that per lot instead of the price formula (leverage can still apply).

Worked example (hypothetical)

Gold at 4,000.00, contract size 100, leverage 1:100, margin rate 1, CFD Leverage mode:

Now suppose the provider raises the margin rate on gold to 2 before a big event. The same 0.10 lot now needs $800. Nothing on your chart changed, but your free margin halved. That is why a sudden margin change can trigger a margin call on a position that was fine yesterday; see my broker changed gold’s margin or contract size. The gold margin calculator works this out for your own leverage.

Remember: margin is not your risk. Your risk is the distance to your stop × ounces. Margin is only the deposit your provider holds while the trade is open.

Swap: the overnight charge or credit

If you hold a position past the daily rollover, you pay or receive swap. The Specification window shows:

• Swap type: how the numbers are measured. MetaQuotes lists points, money in the base, margin or deposit currency, a percentage of the price, and “re-open” methods.
• Swap long and swap short: the values for buy and sell positions. On gold, the long side is often negative.
• Swap rates by weekday: a multiplier for each day. A 3 on Wednesday means Wednesday’s rollover charges three nights to cover the weekend.

Worked example (hypothetical)

Swap type “in points”, swap long -40, tick value $1, position 0.50 lot long:

• one normal night: -40 × $1 × 0.50 = -$20
• the triple day: -$20 × 3 = -$60

If the swap type were “in money” instead, -40 would already be dollars per lot, and the same position would pay -$20 a night only because it is half a lot. This is why you must read the type before the number. More on this in triple swap Wednesday on gold and the gold swap calculator.

Sessions: when you can trade

The bottom of the window shows the quote and trade sessions for each weekday, in the server’s time zone, which is often not yours. Gold usually trades almost 24 hours on weekdays with a short daily break, and providers can close earlier on holidays. Convert the times with the gold market hours tool, which shows the open, break and close in your own zone.

XAUUSD vs COMEX gold futures: same metal, different steps

CFD specifications are set by each provider. Exchange futures are set by the exchange and are the same for everyone. CME Group lists these for its COMEX gold contracts:

So a 100-ounce XAUUSD lot has the same exposure to a $1 move as one GC contract, but moves in finer steps. Also note that futures prices differ from spot by the futures basis, so the two charts never show quite the same number. The gold contract converter translates sizes between spot lots, futures and local contracts. If you live in India, the legal route to gold futures is MCX: compare the two in MCX gold vs XAUUSD.

Common mistakes and the right way

Your 5-minute specification checklist

Before your first gold trade on any new account:

1. Open Specification for the exact symbol you will trade.
2. Write down contract size, digits, tick size and tick value.
3. Work out $ per $1 move for 0.01 lot: (1 ÷ tick size) × tick value × 0.01.
4. Note volume min and step and the stops level in dollars.
5. Read margin mode, rate and leverage, then size one trade with the position size calculator.
6. Read swap type, long, short and the triple day if you hold overnight.
7. Convert the sessions to your time with the market hours tool.

Do it on a demo first if the account is new to you. If you are learning step by step, the School of Gold puts lots, margin and stops in order, and the weekly gold cheat sheet shows typical ranges, which help you judge how much a normal day can cost.

Sources

• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help, Market Watch and symbol Specification fields: https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading/market_watch
• MetaQuotes, MetaTrader 5 Help, margin calculation for Forex and CFD modes: https://www.metatrader5.com/en/terminal/help/trading_advanced/margin_forex
• CME Group, Gold futures contract specifications (100 troy ounces; minimum fluctuation $0.10 per troy ounce = $10.00): https://www.cmegroup.com/trading/metals/precious/gold_contractSpecs_futures
• CME Group, 1-ounce and micro gold futures comparison (Micro Gold is one tenth of the 100-ounce contract, 10 troy ounces): https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/metals/files/1-oz-futures-comparison.pdf
• All specification values, prices, swaps and margins in the worked examples are hypothetical, chosen to show the arithmetic. Check your own Specification window.

Educational content only, not financial advice. Trading gold with leverage carries a high risk of loss.

Frequently asked questions