How to Calculate Profit on a Gold Trade (XAUUSD Formula and Examples)

Gold is the easiest instrument to calculate by hand, because it is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce and a standard lot is a fixed number of ounces. There are no pip tables to look up. You subtract two prices and multiply by ounces. This guide gives the formula, worked examples at three lot sizes for both directions, how to convert to a non-USD account, and how spread, swap, commission and cashback change the final number.

For the general method on any currency pair, see how to calculate profit and loss in forex. This page is the gold-specific version.

Key takeaways

• Long: profit = (close - open) x ounces. Short: profit = (open - close) x ounces. A negative result is a loss.
• Ounces = lots x 100 on a standard 100 oz contract. 0.01 lot is 1 oz, 0.1 lot is 10 oz, 1 lot is 100 oz.
• A 1 USD move is worth 100 USD per lot, 10 USD at 0.1 lot and 1 USD at 0.01 lot. Leverage does not change this.
• Net result = price result - spread (if you used mid prices) - commission - swap. Cashback is paid separately, per lot, and only if the trade lasted more than 5 minutes at XMTrading.
• If your account is not in USD, the profit is first calculated in USD and then converted at the rate when the trade closes.

The formula

Start by converting lots to ounces:

ounces = lots x 100

Then:

• Long (buy): profit in USD = (close price - open price) x ounces
• Short (sell): profit in USD = (open price - close price) x ounces

If the result is negative, it is a loss. The direction only decides which price you subtract from which. For how big 1 lot is and what it is worth, see how much is one lot of gold.

Worked example 1: a long trade at three lot sizes

You buy gold at an example 4,000.00 and close at 4,012.50. The price moved 12.50 USD in your favour.

Had the price fallen 12.50 USD instead, the same table applies with a minus sign: -12.50, -125 and -1,250 USD. The profit is as large as the loss for the same move, which is why the lot size decides your risk. How to choose a stop distance and size a lot from it is covered in gold stop loss: pips or dollars.

Worked example 2: a short trade

You sell 0.1 lot (10 oz) at an example 4,000.00.

• Price falls to 3,992.00 and you close: profit = (4,000.00 - 3,992.00) x 10 = +80 USD.
• Price rises to 4,005.00 and you close: profit = (4,000.00 - 4,005.00) x 10 = -50 USD.

The shortcut: dollars per move

Because 1 lot is 100 oz, a 1.00 USD change in the price is worth 100 USD per lot. Scale it to your size:

So a 12.50 USD move at 0.1 lot is 12.5 x 10 = 125 USD, the same answer as above. Platforms and brokers label gold's "pip" and "point" differently, so it is safest to work in dollars per ounce and ignore the labels.

If your account is not in USD

Gold is priced in USD, so the profit is first a USD amount. If your account currency is EUR, JPY or another currency, the platform converts that USD amount into your account currency at the exchange rate when the position closes. Example: a profit of 125 USD with an example rate of 1 EUR = 1.10 USD becomes 125 / 1.10 = about 113.64 EUR.

Two consequences. The same USD profit is worth a different amount in your currency on different days, and your margin and floating profit also move with the exchange rate. Which base currency to open is a separate decision; see how to choose your forex account base currency.

From gross to net: spread, commission, swap

The formulas above use two prices. Real trades also carry costs:

• Spread. You buy at the ask and sell at the bid. If you take the open and close prices straight from your trade history, the spread is already inside them and must not be subtracted again. If you used a chart's mid price, subtract it: a spread of 0.30 USD per ounce costs 0.30 x 100 = 30 USD per lot, so 3 USD at 0.1 lot (example figures).
• Commission. Standard, Micro and KIWAMI at XMTrading charge no separate commission, and the cost is in the spread. The Zero account has a lower spread plus a commission. XMTrading's help centre states 10 USD per 100,000 USD traded on Zero; how that applies to a gold contract is not spelled out there, so read the commission shown for GOLD in your own platform's order or history data.
• Swap. A position held past the daily rollover pays or receives swap, tripled on Wednesday. Longs on gold normally pay. The mechanics and a five-night example are in the XM gold swap guide. Add it to your result: net = price result - swap paid (or + swap received).

A full net example with example figures: a 0.1 lot long, price result +125 USD (mid prices), spread cost 3 USD, held intraday so no swap, Standard account with no commission. Net = 125 - 3 = 122 USD.

Adding cashback

Cashback is separate from the trade's profit. CB-Dogs pays 60% of the IB commission XMTrading actually pays, per lot closed, whether the trade won or lost. Current rates:

With the Standard example of 1.8 USDT per standard lot (this can change with the partner level), 0.1 lot earns 0.1 x 1.8 = 0.18 USDT. Added to the example above: 122 + 0.18 = 122.18. On a loss, cashback still arrives, but it only trims the loss: a -50 USD trade at 0.1 lot is about -49.82 after cashback.

One condition matters here. Under XMTrading's publicly available partner terms, trades lasting 5 minutes or less (open to close) do not count for IB commission, so they earn no cashback. A gold scalp that closes in three minutes pays the full spread and returns nothing. The list of excluded trades is in which XM trades are excluded from cashback. Exness figures are estimates that move with the spread; see Exness gold cashback per lot.

A quick checklist

1. Convert lots to ounces (x 100).
2. Subtract the prices in the direction of your trade.
3. Multiply by ounces to get USD.
4. Take the spread out if you used mid prices; take commission and swap out.
5. Convert to your account currency if it is not USD.
6. Treat cashback as a small separate credit, not part of the trade's result.

Your platform's closed-trade history shows the exact figure, including swap and commission, so use it to check your own arithmetic on a demo account first.

FAQ

What is the formula for profit on a gold trade?

For a long, profit = (close price - open price) x ounces. For a short, profit = (open price - close price) x ounces. Ounces = lots x 100 on a standard 100 oz contract.

How much do I make per lot if gold moves 10 dollars?

Does leverage change my gold profit?

How do I calculate gold profit on a EUR or JPY account?

Does cashback count as trading profit?

Related reading

• How to calculate profit and loss in forex
• How much is 1 lot of gold
• Gold stop loss: pips or dollars
• Gold cashback per lot explained

Want to see what your gold volume returns? Try the cashback calculator, or register with CB-Dogs before you open your account.