Gold and silver: XAU/USD, XAG/USD and contract size

The essentials

A gold or silver symbol may represent a CFD or another contract, not physical delivery. Lot quantity, units, ticks and funding depend on specifications; do not copy a forex lot size.

Understand the mechanism, not just the definition

For metals, a price difference is monetized using ounces or other contractual units. Gold symbols can differ in contract size, minimum volume and tick. “Ten gold pips” is incomplete without a convention. Use price change, exposed units and tick value for reproducibility.

Example and verification

Hypothetical example: a 10-ounce contract and USD 1 per-ounce move produce USD 10 gross. With 100 ounces, that move produces USD 100. These sizes are not verified real pricing.

Worked case, step by step

Assume gold at 100 ounces per lot and volume 0.10: exposure is 10 ounces. A rise from USD 2,000 to 2,001.50 per ounce produces 1.50 × 10 = USD 15 gross for a buy. A one-ounce-per-lot contract gives different exposure. These are assumptions, not universal specifications or current prices.

What to verify when applying this

Record ounces, minimum size, hours, monetary spread and funding. Identify product and expiry. XAUUSD symbols may create different exposures; compare economic quantities rather than lots alone.

Practice: verify it in your environment

Learn by observing the process and keeping its data. Complete this practice in demo or using documentation, without sending real orders or adding capital for the exercise. Record differences between the example and your account specifications.

1. Convert lots into metal units and calculate a small hypothetical move.
2. Check gold and silver tick, margin and funding separately.

Test your understanding

Try the question before revealing the answer. Justify the conclusion and its assumptions rather than memorizing a number.