What to Check Before Trading Gold: Session, Size and Exit Plan
Author: 分析师 卢明宇
Before a first gold order, confirm the product, quote, trading session, available funds, position size, stop and exit conditions. Five checks turn a directional view into a plan that can be reviewed before and after execution.
Confirm the product and quotation unit
Gold products can be spot, futures, account products or other contracts. Units, quotation currency, minimum quantity, margin and expiry arrangements can differ. Read the product name, code, unit and fees before comparing prices. Start with the public precious-metals trading rules.
If a product has a contract month or expiry, record the last trading day and handling procedure. See the gold-futures contract-value calculation.
Check the session, quote and system
Spread, volatility and liquidity can change through the day. Use current opening, closing, maintenance and holiday notices. Before sending an order, confirm that quotes update, both sides are visible and the account permits trading.
Around data releases or session changes, quotes can move rapidly. Check the order type and acceptable execution range, or wait for a stable quote and reread the ticket. See the stop and account-risk guide.
Work backwards from an acceptable loss
Planned loss limit = available funds × chosen percentage; risk per unit = entry-to-stop distance × value per price unit; planned quantity = planned loss limit ÷ risk per unit. Replace the unit value with the current product parameter and include costs.
Assume 10,000 US dollars available, a 1% teaching limit (100 dollars), a value of 2 dollars per price unit and a stop 10 price units away. Risk per unit is 20 dollars and planned quantity is 100 ÷ 20 = 5 units. This example excludes spread, commission, slippage, gaps and overnight charges; round down and recheck the minimum quantity.
Write executable exit conditions
Record the entry reason, stop price, trigger side, invalidation reason and exit condition. A market order prioritises speed, a limit order prioritises a price constraint and a stop order responds to a trigger; none guarantees a fill. See the market, limit and stop order guide.
Reread the ticket after submission
Check direction, quantity, fill price, stop, take-profit and whether the status is filled, partially filled, pending or rejected. If not filled, check the quote, margin, session permission and error message instead of clicking repeatedly. If protection is missing after a fill, follow the platform procedure and record the actual result.
A checklist cannot remove market risk, but it moves avoidable mistakes to a point where they can be checked. Save the plan and compare planned price, actual price, spread, costs and exit reason.
The 10,000 US dollars, 1%, 100 dollars, 2 dollars per unit, 10 price units and 5 units are hypothetical teaching figures. Sessions, specifications, margin, fees, triggers and forced-liquidation conditions may change. Margin trading can produce losses beyond expectations; trade only after understanding the rules and volatility you can bear.
Sources: WWGJS trading rules, fees and charges, account risk management and gold-futures product article.