Gold Position Sizing: How Much to Risk Per Trade

I have been trading XAUUSD for over a decade. Everything in this guide comes from real trades at my desk in Singapore — not from textbooks. Here is what I have learned.

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I've seen traders blow up $5k accounts in a week because they treated gold like EURUSD. XAUUSD moves 5-10x more than forex. You can't use the same lot sizes and survive. Let me show you the numbers. Amazing.

Real Position Sizes by Account Size

To be fair, here is what I recommend based on account size, assuming a 200-pip stop and 1% risk:

• $500 account 0.02 lots max. exposure per setup: $5. One standard lot would risk $2,000 - four times your account. Sounds crazy but I see people do this. Waste.

• $2,000 account 0.1 lots. Risk: $20. This is where you can actually start feeling the market moves.

• $5,000 account 0.25 lots. exposure: $50. Gets interesting at this level. Amazing.

• $10,000 account 0.5 lots. Risk: $100. Full mini lots, partial standard.

Honestly, use our Lot Size Calculator if you want exact numbers for your account. Terrible.

Why I Use Micro Lots