Gold trading sessions & hourly ranges
When does gold usually move the most? Below is XAU/USD's average high–low range for each hour and each trading session, shown in your time zone. It describes the past only and says nothing about what price will do next.
Sessions today, in your time
| Session | Your time | Avg range | Last 3 mo. |
|---|
Range = highest minus lowest bid price inside the window, in US dollars per ounce. Session windows follow local daylight saving in London and New York.
Average range by hour
Show the table
| Your time | New York | Avg | Last 3 mo. |
|---|
* fewer samples: this hour sits around the daily trading break.
How we define the sessions
- Asia: 00:00–09:00 UTC (09:00–18:00 Tokyo).
- London: 08:00–17:00 London time.
- New York: 08:00–17:00 New York time. Major US data is usually released at 08:30 New York time, which is why that hour often shows larger ranges.
- London–New York overlap: from 08:00 New York until 17:00 London.
Hours are grouped by New York clock time so that daylight-saving changes don't blur the picture, then converted to your local time for today. Weekends are excluded. Gold CFDs typically trade from Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00 New York time with a short daily break; your broker's hours may differ.
A bigger average range means larger typical swings, which also means a fixed stop is more likely to be hit and gaps are more likely. Use the lot size calculator to size positions for that.
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One short email each Sunday: the week's US events in your time zone, last week's gold range and volatility stats, and one risk-math lesson. No signals, no trade ideas.