The live XAU/USD price, when gold is most liquid, and what moves it.
FxPro offers gold with competitive spreads, MT4/MT5 and -friendly funding for traders in Australia.
XAU/USD responds mainly to the US dollar, real interest rates, inflation expectations and demand for defensive assets. Gold pays no yield, so higher rates raise the cost of holding it. Central bank buying, jewellery demand and headlines that shift risk appetite also matter, which is why quiet weeks can be followed by sharp moves.
XAU/USD is quoted in US dollars per ounce because that is the convention for the global gold market, so your profit and loss is calculated in USD. Your broker converts the result to Australian dollars at its own rate, which means the A$ figure can differ from the USD figure even when the trade itself is unchanged.
Yes. One standard lot of XAU/USD represents 100 ounces, and one pip is 0.01 of a dollar per ounce. That makes the notional value large relative to most retail accounts, so many traders use 0.10 or 0.01 lots. Run the position size calculator before entering rather than guessing at the exposure.
XAU/USD trades nearly around the clock from Monday to Friday, following the major financial centres as they open and close, with a weekly break over the weekend. Liquidity is not evenly spread across that window, and the quietest stretches can produce wider quotes and more slippage than the busiest ones.
Gold is high risk because it can move several dollars in a session, and at 100 ounces per lot that movement is magnified quickly. Leverage adds to it, and stops can slip in fast conditions. Treat any position as risk capital, size it from your stop rather than your conviction, and never assume a level will hold.
