Who this is for
You trade XAU/USD as a primary or secondary instrument. You want a broker that treats gold like a serious market, not a side offering. That means tight spreads on gold, fast execution through volatility, and clear contract specifications.
What to look for
Every broker will tell you they're the best. Here are the concrete things the desk checks before recommending any broker for this category:
Gold is quoted in pips of $0.01. A good broker runs 10-20 pips spread during the London and NY sessions. Over 30 pips is expensive.
Gold can move $10-20 in minutes around FOMC or NFP. Your broker needs to fill you without massive slippage during these windows.
The industry standard is 100 oz per standard lot, meaning $1 per $0.01 pip move per standard lot. Some brokers use different contract sizes — check.
Some brokers offer reduced leverage on gold vs forex pairs (e.g. 1:20 instead of 1:30). Know this before sizing positions.
Gold trades nearly 24/5 with a short daily break. Make sure your broker's hours match the CME gold futures session.
Genesis FX is the Candleread desk's gold trading pick because it runs competitive gold spreads (12-18 pips during active sessions), handles volatile news events without catastrophic slippage, uses the industry-standard 100 oz contract size, and offers flexible leverage on gold matching its forex rates. The desk trades XAU/USD daily on this broker.
Open a Genesis FX account →Affiliate link · no extra cost to you · we only recommend what the desk trades
Gold's best trading windows are the London session open (gold often takes its cue from London fix dynamics) and the NY session open (US dollar strength drives inverse gold moves). The Asian session is usually thin and noisy — avoid sizing up during those hours.
Key takeaways
- →Gold is the retail CFD's cleanest chart — but broker quality matters more than on forex
- →Look for sub-20 pip spreads, clean execution, and 100 oz standard contracts
- →Genesis FX delivers on all three and is what the Candleread desk trades daily on gold
- →Size DOWN on gold until you understand how fast it moves