Xauusd symbol
Family I · Instruments
Not to be confused with xauusd, 1 pip in xauusd, xauusd what is it.
XAUUSD symbol is the ticker used by brokers and data providers to represent the exchange rate between gold and the US dollar. It is not a company or a fund; it is a quotation convention that expresses how many dollars are needed to buy one troy ounce of gold. The symbol appears on trading platforms, price feeds and contract specifications, and its exact spelling can vary by provider.
What the symbol represents
XAUUSD combines two ISO 4217 currency codes: XAU for gold and USD for the United States dollar. The pair is quoted as a single number, for example 2,350.00, meaning one troy ounce of gold costs 2,350 US dollars. Because gold is a physical commodity rather than a national currency, the symbol is classified as a commodity pair or a metal pair, not a traditional foreign exchange pair.
The symbol is used for spot gold, gold forwards and some gold-backed contracts, but the underlying deliverable and contract size are defined by the venue. Brokers may list it as XAU/USD, GOLD or GOLDUSD; these are naming variants of the same quotation concept.
Worked example: reading a quote
This example uses a contract size of 10 troy ounces. Contract sizes vary by broker and product, so the monetary effect of a price move must be checked against the specific contract specification.
Trading hours and quotation conventions
XAUUSD is typically quoted during the same sessions as major foreign exchange pairs, but exact trading hours, settlement conventions and holiday schedules vary by broker and venue. Some providers quote gold around the clock from Sunday evening to Friday evening, while others pause for a daily maintenance window.
The number of decimal places also varies. Many brokers quote XAUUSD to two decimals, while others use three. The tick size, minimum price increment and available leverage are set by the broker or regulator and are not properties of the symbol itself.
Often confused with
- xauusd
- This entry defines the symbol itself, whereas the xauusd entry treats the same term as a general instrument page; the visible sign is that this page focuses on the ticker and its quotation convention.
- 1 pip in xauusd
- This entry describes the symbol and its quotation, while 1 pip in xauusd explains the monetary value of a one-pip move; the visible sign is that the pip entry contains a pip-value calculation.
- xauusd what is it
- XAUUSD is the trading symbol for the price of one troy ounce of gold quoted in United States dollars, where XAU is the ISO 4217 code for gold and USD is the code for the US dollar.