Gold, traded as XAUUSD, is one of the most popular markets for automated trading. It moves a long way in a day, it trends strongly, and almost every MetaTrader broker offers it. The same qualities make it demanding.
What makes gold different
Inflation, interest-rate decisions, employment reports: a news filter keeps an EA out of the market around those releases.
The spread on gold differs widely between brokers, and widens at quiet hours.
Many gold EAs set the stop from the Average True Range rather than a fixed distance.
- Sydney 21:00–06:00
- Tokyo 00:00–09:00
- London 07:00–16:00
- New York 12:00–21:00
- London + New York 12:00–16:00
Times in GMT, approximate: they shift by an hour with daylight saving.
Two ways an EA can trade gold
With the trend
- Waits for a trend to be established
- Trades in its direction
- K3Bxn Gold Premium
On a breakout
- Waits for price to break out of a range or a level
- Trades in the direction of the break
- K3Bxn Breakout
Look at how the risk is handled before anything else: a stop loss on every trade, a position size that comes from the risk you set, and no martingale or grid.
What to check on your account
Before you run a gold EA
Tick what is true for you. It is kept on this device.
Compare the systems on the Expert Advisors page, or read how to choose a broker for gold.
