[How-to] [How-to] Gold (XAUUSD) session map: when to stay out

Gold doesn't behave the same all day. Movement and costs change a lot by session. Use this map when setting EA trading hours or judging copy traders. Times are in GMT (UTC), winter time; in summer most shift one hour earlier.

Sessions

• 00:00–07:00 GMT (Asia): relatively quiet. Suits range trading; breakouts often fail
• Around 08:00 GMT (London open): volume rises and direction starts to appear
• 13:30 GMT (US data): CPI, jobs reports and the like. Gold can move $10–$30+ in seconds
• 13:20–18:30 GMT (New York / COMEX session): the biggest moves of the day
• Around 21:00–22:00 GMT (rollover): the trading day changes. Spreads widen sharply and fills get unstable

Moments to avoid

• FOMC (US rate decisions): usually 19:00 GMT. Big swings before and after
• Jobs report day (usually the first Friday of the month)
• Entering during rollover: block this window for scalping EAs
• Right after Monday's open: weekend news can make price gap

EA setup tips

• MT5 chart time is the broker's server time. Check the offset to your time before entering trading hours
• During the weeks when US daylight saving time starts or ends (2nd Sunday of March, 1st Sunday of November), times easily slip by an hour
• A filter that pauses trading 30 minutes around news cuts slippage accidents dramatically

Check an economic calendar each Monday for that week's big releases.