Mini and micro lot in gold trading
A mini lot is 0.10 of a standard lot (usually 10 oz of gold) and a micro lot is 0.01 (usually 1 oz); they let small accounts size risk precisely.
Also called 0.10 lot, 0.01 lot, Fractional lot
A mini lot is one tenth of a standard lot and a micro lot is one hundredth. On a 100-ounce XAUUSD contract that is 10 ounces and 1 ounce respectively. Platforms show them as volume 0.10 and 0.01. Most also allow steps between them, such as 0.03 or 0.17, which are simply multiples of the micro lot.
How it applies to gold trading
Fractional lots are what make gold tradable on small accounts. A $1 move is worth $10 on a mini lot and $1 on a micro lot. Suppose a trader with a $1,000 account wants to risk 1% ($10) with a $5 stop. The required size is $10 ÷ ($5 × 100) = 0.02 lots, or two micro lots. On a standard lot the same stop would risk $500, half the account.
Micro lots also allow partial exits: a 0.05-lot position can be closed in five pieces, or scaled out at two or three targets. That flexibility is a practical reason many traders prefer 0.01 steps even on larger accounts.
Many platforms also cap the maximum lots per order and per account, so a large account may need several tickets; the per-lot arithmetic is unchanged, only the number of tickets grows.
A common mistake
Reading “0.1” as a tenth of an ounce or as 10% of the account. It is a tenth of a lot, and on gold that is still 10 ounces, enough for a $20 move to cost $200.
See also: Lot, Cent account, Position sizing, Risk per trade.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a micro lot of gold worth per pip?
With a 1-ounce micro lot, each $0.01 move is $0.01 and each $1 move is $1. A $10 move in gold is $10 of profit or loss.
Can I trade 0.005 lots of gold?
On most standard accounts the minimum step is 0.01. Cent accounts, which denominate balances in cents, effectively allow smaller exposure with the same 0.01 step.