Good till cancelled in gold trading
Good till cancelled (GTC) is an expiry setting that keeps a pending gold order active until it fills or you cancel it, unlike day or dated orders that expire.
Also called GTC, Order expiry, Good for day, Good till date
Good till cancelled (GTC) is an order duration: the pending order stays on the server until it is filled or you remove it. Other durations include good for the day (expires at the end of the trading day) and good till a specified date and time.
How it applies to gold trading
A GTC buy limit at a level you marked last week can fill months later, long after the reason for the trade has gone. On gold, where the weekly range can be $100 or more, forgotten GTC orders are a common source of surprise positions. They can also fill at the Sunday open with a gap, when spreads are wide.
Day orders suit intraday plans built on that session’s range, such as an Asian range breakout. Dated orders suit event plans: an order that should exist only until the end of FOMC day. MT5 offers GTC, today, specified time and specified day expiries, subject to what the symbol allows.
Worked example
Example (hypothetical numbers): on Monday you place a GTC sell limit at 4,080 to fade a resistance zone, with gold at 4,040. You forget it. Three weeks later a CPI surprise sends gold through 4,080 to 4,120. The order fills at 4,080 and is $40 × 100 = $4,000 per lot underwater before you notice.
A common mistake
Leaving GTC orders on after the trade idea is invalidated. Review open pending orders every day, or give them an expiry.
See also: Pending order, Limit order, Weekend gap, Trading plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do pending gold orders expire over the weekend?
GTC orders do not. They stay active and can fill at the Sunday open. Day orders expire at the end of the trading day.
How do I set an expiry on an MT5 order?
In the order ticket, choose the expiration type, such as today or specified time, and enter the date and time if needed.