Gold's weekly open and price gaps

Gold stops trading on Friday evening and reopens on Sunday evening, US time. Anything that happens in between, such as an election, a war or a surprise central bank statement, is priced in the moment trading resumes. When the first price is far from Friday’s close, that’s a gap.

Why gaps matter

• Stops don’t protect you through a gap. If you’re long with a stop at 4,100 and gold opens at 4,080, your stop fills at or near 4,080, not 4,100.
• Pending orders fill at the open price, which may be worse than the level you set.
• Spreads are wide for the first minutes of the week.

How traders handle it

1. Close or reduce positions before the weekend if a gap would hurt more than you’re prepared to lose.
2. Take partial profits on Friday and move stops to entry on what’s left.
3. Don’t open new trades in the first half hour of the week, while spreads settle.
4. Know the weekend calendar: elections, OPEC meetings and G7 summits make gaps more likely.

Do signals trade the open?

Good signal services avoid sending new trades into the illiquid first minutes of the week. If a signal is open over the weekend, expect an update on Friday about holding, securing profit or closing.