Profit and loss in gold trading
Profit and loss on gold is the price change times contract size times lots: on 100 oz per lot, every $1 move is $100 per standard lot before costs.
Also called P&L, PnL, Trade result
Profit and loss (P&L) is the money result of a trade: what you made or lost between entry and exit after costs. For XAUUSD the core formula is simple: P&L = (exit price − entry price) × contract size × lots for a long, and the reverse for a short.
How it applies to gold trading
With a 100-ounce contract, each $1.00 move in gold is $100 on 1 lot, $10 on 0.10 lots and $1 on 0.01 lots. Costs then come off: the spread paid on entry, any commission per lot and the swap for each night held. Because gold quotes to two decimals, a “pip” can mean $0.10 or $0.01 depending on the platform, so it is safer to think in dollars of price movement.
If the account is not in US dollars, the result is converted into the account currency at the current exchange rate, which adds a small currency effect.
Worked example
Example (hypothetical numbers): short 0.40 lots at 4,030.50, closed at 4,018.20. The move is $12.30 in your favor: $12.30 × 100 × 0.40 = $492. Commission of $7 per round lot costs $2.80 and one night’s swap of -$4 per lot costs $1.60, leaving net P&L of about $487.60.
A common mistake
Calculating profit in pips copied from forex, where 1 pip on 1 lot is usually $10. On gold a 100-pip move can be $10 or $1 per ounce depending on the definition, which changes the result tenfold.
See also: Floating profit and loss, Pip value, Contract size, Commission.
Frequently asked questions
How much profit is a $10 move in gold?
On a 100-ounce lot, $1,000 per standard lot, $100 per 0.10 lot and $10 per 0.01 lot, before spread, commission and swap.
How do I calculate gold profit in my own currency?
Calculate it in dollars first, then convert at the current exchange rate. Platforms with non-dollar accounts do this automatically when the trade closes.