Gold crosses in gold trading
Gold crosses are gold quoted in currencies other than the US dollar, such as XAUEUR or XAUJPY, which separate gold's own move from a move in the dollar.
Also called XAUEUR, XAUGBP, XAUJPY, XAUAUD, Gold in other currencies
Gold crosses are symbols that price one troy ounce of gold in a currency other than the dollar: XAUEUR in euros, XAUGBP in pounds, XAUJPY in yen, XAUAUD in Australian dollars and so on. Their price is effectively XAUUSD divided by the dollar rate of that currency.
How it applies to gold trading
XAUUSD mixes two moves: gold’s value and the dollar’s value. When the dollar falls, XAUUSD can rise even if demand for gold is flat. A cross strips out the dollar. If XAUUSD is up 1% while XAUEUR is unchanged, the move was mostly dollar weakness; if both are up, gold itself is strong.
Crosses also matter to traders and investors whose home currency is not the dollar, since their real return depends on the local-currency price. Spreads on crosses are usually wider and liquidity thinner than on XAUUSD, so most active traders still execute in XAUUSD and use crosses for context.
Worked example
Example (hypothetical numbers): XAUUSD is 4,000 and EURUSD is 1.0800, so XAUEUR is about 4,000 ÷ 1.08 = 3,703.70. If EURUSD rises to 1.0900 while gold stays at 4,000 in dollars, XAUEUR falls to about 3,669.72. A euro-based holder lost about 0.9% in euro terms even though the dollar price did not move.
A common mistake
Reading a dollar-driven XAUUSD rally as broad gold strength. Check the DXY or a cross before attributing the move to gold demand.
See also: XAUUSD, DXY, Correlation, SMT divergence.
Frequently asked questions
How is XAUEUR calculated?
Approximately as XAUUSD divided by EURUSD. If gold is $4,000 and one euro buys $1.08, one ounce costs about 3,704 euros.
Should I trade gold crosses instead of XAUUSD?
Most traders execute in XAUUSD because spreads and liquidity are better, and use crosses to judge whether a move is gold strength or dollar weakness.