Gold Trading Online (XAUUSD): How to Trade Gold with TIOmarkets
BY TIOmarkets
|February 18, 2026Gold is one of the most actively traded commodities in the world. It reacts to inflation, central bank policy, geopolitical risk and currency weakness, giving traders a broad range of catalysts to work with on any given week.
For CFD traders, XAUUSD (gold priced in US dollars) offers exposure to these moves without the need to own physical bullion.
According to the World Gold Council's Gold Demand Trends report released in January 2026, total global gold demand exceeded 5,000 tonnes for the first time, with the total value reaching $555 billion, a 45% increase year on year. Investment demand was the primary driver at 2,175 tonnes.
That level of institutional and retail interest helps explain why XAUUSD remains one of the highest-volume instruments on most trading platforms.
This guide covers what moves the gold price, how XAUUSD trading works in practice, and how to get started with TIOmarkets.
What Is XAUUSD?
XAUUSD is the ticker symbol for gold quoted in US dollars. XAU is the international currency code for one troy ounce of gold. When you trade XAUUSD as a CFD, you are speculating on the price movement of gold relative to the dollar without taking physical delivery.
This means you can take a position in either direction. If you expect gold to rise, you buy (go long). If you expect it to fall, you sell (go short). Profit or loss is determined by the difference between your entry and exit price, multiplied by your position size.
Gold CFDs are traded on margin, meaning you only need to deposit a fraction of the full position value to open a trade. This amplifies both potential gains and potential losses, which is why risk management is critical with leveraged instruments.
What Drives the Gold Price?
Gold does not generate income like a stock dividend or bond coupon, so its price is driven largely by opportunity cost, sentiment, and macroeconomic conditions. The main factors include:
Interest rates and monetary policy. Gold tends to perform well when real interest rates (adjusted for inflation) are low or falling. Lower rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding asset. Central bank decisions, particularly from the US Federal Reserve, are among the most significant short-term catalysts for XAUUSD.
US dollar strength. Because gold is priced in dollars, a weaker dollar generally supports higher gold prices, and a stronger dollar tends to weigh on them. Dollar index (DXY) movements and XAUUSD often move inversely.
Inflation expectations. Gold has historically been viewed as a hedge against inflation. When markets expect purchasing power to erode, demand for gold tends to increase.
Geopolitical risk. Conflict, trade disputes, sanctions, and political instability tend to increase demand for gold as a safe-haven asset. The World Gold Council's 2025 data showed that geopolitical uncertainty was a primary driver of record investment flows into gold last year.
Central bank buying. Central banks added 863 tonnes of gold to their reserves in 2025, well above the long-term average. Sustained net buying by official institutions supports the price floor for gold over the medium term.
How XAUUSD Lot Sizes and Point Values Work
Understanding position sizing is essential before placing a gold trade. On most MT4/MT5 brokers, the standard contract size for XAUUSD is 100 troy ounces per lot. That means at a gold price of $5,000 per ounce, one standard lot represents $500,000 in notional value.
Most retail traders work with smaller sizes. A mini lot is 0.1 lots (10 ounces) and a micro lot is 0.01 lots (1 ounce). TIOmarkets allows trading from as little as 0.01 lots, so you can trade a single ounce of gold per position.
On most MT4/MT5 platforms, XAUUSD is quoted to two decimal places, where a $0.01 move represents one point (often referred to as a pip in gold trading). Confirm the contract specification on your platform, as conventions vary between brokers. A $1.00 move in the gold price equals 100 points. The value per point depends on your lot size: for one standard lot (100 oz), each point is worth $1.00. For a micro lot (1 oz), each point is worth $0.01.
Here is a practical example. If you buy 0.1 lots (10 ounces) of XAUUSD at $5,000 and the price rises to $5,020, you have gained $20 per ounce across 10 ounces, which is $200. The same move against you would result in a $200 loss.
When to Trade Gold
XAUUSD is available to trade nearly 24 hours a day, five days a week, from Sunday evening through to Friday evening (GMT). However, not all hours offer the same conditions.
The highest volume and tightest spreads tend to occur during the overlap between the London and New York sessions, roughly 12:00 to 16:00 GMT. This is when the largest institutional participants are most active. Major US economic data releases (Non-Farm Payrolls, CPI, Federal Reserve announcements) fall within or close to this window and frequently produce sharp moves in XAUUSD.
The Asian session (roughly 00:00 to 08:00 GMT) tends to be quieter, with lower volatility and wider spreads.
How to Trade Gold with TIOmarkets
TIOmarkets offers XAUUSD trading on both MT4 and MT5, with access across all account types. Here is how the main account options compare for gold trading:
The Standard account offers spreads from 1.1 pips with zero commission, making it straightforward for traders who prefer all-in pricing. The minimum deposit is $20, which makes it an accessible starting point for traders who want to test gold trading with smaller positions.
The Raw account offers spreads from 0.0 pips with a $6 round-turn commission, which can result in lower total trading costs for active traders, particularly those using scalping or high-frequency strategies.
The VIP Black account offers spreads from 0.3 pips with no commission and a $1,000 minimum deposit, combining tight spreads with commission-free execution.
To get started, register an account, fund it using one of the available deposit methods, and open XAUUSD from the market watch window in your MT4 or MT5 platform. You can review the contract specification by right-clicking on the XAUUSD symbol and selecting "Specification" to check lot sizes, margin requirements, and trading hours.
Risk Management for Gold Trading
Gold is a volatile instrument. Daily price swings of $30 to $50 or more are common, and during major economic events or geopolitical escalations, moves can be significantly larger. This volatility creates opportunity but demands disciplined risk management.
A common approach is to risk no more than 1 to 2 percent of your account balance on any single trade. To apply this, calculate your stop-loss distance in dollar terms, determine the value per point for your chosen lot size, and size your position so that the maximum loss stays within your risk threshold.
For example, if your account balance is $1,000 and you are willing to risk 2% ($20), and your stop-loss is $20 per ounce away from your entry, you would trade 0.01 lots (1 ounce), where a $20 adverse move costs exactly $20.
Always use stop-loss orders. Gold can move sharply on news, and trading without a stop-loss exposes your account to losses that exceed your intended risk.
FAQ
Risk disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Never deposit more than you are prepared to lose. Professional client’s losses can exceed their deposit. Please see our risk warning policy and seek independent professional advice if you do not fully understand. This information is not directed or intended for distribution to or use by residents of certain countries/jurisdictions including, but not limited to, USA & Countries included in the OFAC sanction list. The Company holds the right to alter the aforementioned list of countries at its own discretion.
TIOmarkets offers an exclusively execution-only service. The views expressed are for information purposes only. None of the content provided constitutes any form of investment advice. The comments are made available purely for educational and marketing purposes and do NOT constitute advice or investment recommendation (and should not be considered as such) and do not in any way constitute an invitation to acquire any financial instrument or product. TIOmarkets and its affiliates and consultants are not liable for any damages that may be caused by individual comments or statements by TIOmarkets analysis and assumes no liability with respect to the completeness and correctness of the content presented. The investor is solely responsible for the risk of his/her investment decisions. The analyses and comments presented do not include any consideration of your personal investment objectives, financial circumstances, or needs. The content has not been prepared in accordance with any legal requirements for financial analysis and must, therefore, be viewed by the reader as marketing information. TIOmarkets prohibits duplication or publication without explicit approval.
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