Gold Contract Console

Account Balance ($) Account Currency USD Conversion Rate 1 account currency unit equals this many USD. Desired Risk Percentage (%) Stop Loss Distance Allocation (Pips)

Advanced Broker Specification Override Drawer ▼

Broker Contract Specification Size

Minimum Tradeable Lot Broker Lot Step

Confirm whether your gold symbol contract size is 100 ounces, 10 ounces, or a broker-specific micro commodity value before executing XAUUSD risk.

The Formula

To calculate your position size in lots, use the following formula:

Position Size = (Account Balance × Risk Percentage) ÷ (Stop Loss in pips × Value per Pip)

Key XAUUSD Specs

Before calculating, check your broker's specific specifications because these can vary by platform and symbol.

• Contract Size: Default model uses 100 troy ounces per standard lot, which is the common spot gold contract specification.
• 1 Pip Value: With the 0.10 gold pip multiplier, 10 pips equals a $1.00 gold price move. Broker commodity symbols can still differ, so verify the terminal specification.

Step-by-Step Example

Say you have a $10,000 account, want to risk 1% of it, and your stop loss is 30 gold pips away.

1. Determine your maximum risk: $10,000 × 0.01 = $100.
2. Convert stop loss into price distance: 30 pips × 0.10 = $3.00 of gold price movement.
3. Determine lot size: $100 ÷ ($3.00 × 100 ounces) = 0.33 lots before broker lot-step rounding.

XAUUSD Contract & Calculation Reference Guide

XAUUSD lot sizing is based on spot gold contract weight. In the standard commodity model, 1.00 lot of gold represents 100 troy ounces. This means a one dollar move in the gold price can create a meaningful profit or loss swing. If gold moves from 2,350.00 to 2,351.00, the price has moved 1.00 dollar. In many trading platforms, that same move is described as 10 pips because gold pips are commonly treated as 0.10 increments. The Big42 Trading gold calculator therefore uses a default pip multiplier of 0.10.

The relationship between pips, dollars, and ounces is the main source of confusion for new gold traders. A 30 pip stop loss on XAUUSD is not the same kind of distance as a 30 pip stop on EURUSD. With the 0.10 multiplier, 30 gold pips represent a 3.00 dollar move. With a 100 ounce contract size, 1.00 standard lot exposed to a 3.00 dollar adverse move implies about 300 dollars of price exposure. If the intended cash risk is only 100 dollars, the calculated position size must be about one third of a lot before broker lot-step rounding.

The calculator follows that logic directly. It first calculates cash at risk from account balance and risk percentage. If the account currency is not USD, the manual conversion rate creates a USD sizing basis because gold is quoted in dollars. It then multiplies the stop loss pip input by 0.10 to find the absolute gold price movement. That price distance is multiplied by the broker contract size, normally 100 ounces. The converted cash risk is divided by that value to produce the lot allocation.

Gold broker specifications are not always identical. Some brokers offer standard XAUUSD at 100 ounces per lot, while others provide mini, micro, or cent-style products where the contract size is smaller. A calculator that hides this assumption can produce misleading results. The broker calibration drawer lets the trader change contract size, minimum lot, and lot step. The final output rounds down to the broker lot step, keeping the model conservative and preventing accidental over-allocation on a volatile commodity instrument.