Gold trading hours
Spot gold trades about 23 hours a day from Sunday night to Friday night, with a daily break of about an hour and a weekend close.
Most brokers halt gold for around an hour each day, in the late New York evening, and close it from Friday evening to late Sunday night.
The exact times are in your broker's symbol specification, and they are quoted in server time, not yours. The times below are measured on our own broker feed.
Open, break and close
On our broker's XAUUSD over the last year, gold closed for the weekend at 21:00 or 22:00 UTC on Friday, which is 23:00 or midnight in South Africa, and reopened at 22:00 or 23:00 UTC on Sunday, which is midnight or 01:00 on Monday in South Africa.
The daily break falls at 17:00 New York time: 21:00 UTC for most of the year and 22:00 UTC for the rest. The UTC and South African times move by an hour because New York changes its clocks and South Africa does not.
| Moment | South Africa (SAST) | UTC | New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekly open (Sunday night) | 00:00 or 01:00 Monday | 22:00 or 23:00 Sunday | 18:00 Sunday |
| Daily break, about an hour | 23:00 or 00:00 | 21:00 or 22:00 | 17:00 |
| Weekly close (Friday night) | 23:00 or 00:00 | 21:00 or 22:00 | 17:00 Friday |
The hours gold moves most
We measured the typical high to low range of every one-hour gold bar on weekdays over the last 12 months. The busiest stretch by far is 15:00 to 18:00 in South Africa (13:00 to 16:00 UTC), when New York opens and US data is released: a typical hour there moved 23 to 26 dollars.
The second active window is around 03:00 in South Africa (01:00 UTC), when Asian markets open, at about 24 dollars. The quietest hours are around 06:00 (about 12 dollars) and the late evening before the daily break (about 11 dollars).
A larger range means more movement in both directions. It is a description of how much gold has moved at each hour, not of which way it will move next.
| South Africa (SAST) | UTC | Typical one-hour range |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 | 00:00 | $17.77 |
| 03:00 | 01:00 | $24.19 |
| 04:00 | 02:00 | $17.79 |
| 05:00 | 03:00 | $13.79 |
| 06:00 | 04:00 | $11.62 |
| 07:00 | 05:00 | $17.95 |
| 08:00 | 06:00 | $16.52 |
| 09:00 | 07:00 | $15.40 |
| 10:00 | 08:00 | $15.71 |
| 11:00 | 09:00 | $14.30 |
| 12:00 | 10:00 | $14.03 |
| 13:00 | 11:00 | $14.73 |
| 14:00 | 12:00 | $21.02 |
| 15:00 | 13:00 | $26.38 |
| 16:00 | 14:00 | $25.45 |
| 17:00 | 15:00 | $23.36 |
| 18:00 | 16:00 | $18.34 |
| 19:00 | 17:00 | $15.21 |
| 20:00 | 18:00 | $15.55 |
| 21:00 | 19:00 | $14.21 |
| 22:00 | 20:00 | $10.75 |
| 23:00 | 21:00 | $10.66 (break on most days) |
| 00:00 | 22:00 | $11.04 |
| 01:00 | 23:00 | $13.59 |
Questions people ask
Is gold traded 24 hours a day?
Almost. Spot gold trades about 23 hours on each weekday, with a daily break of about an hour in the late New York evening.
Is the gold market closed on weekends?
Yes. It closes on Friday night, around 23:00 or midnight in South Africa, and reopens late on Sunday night.
When does gold move the most?
On our broker's prices over the last year, the largest hourly moves came between 15:00 and 18:00 South African time, when New York opens.
Why are my broker's gold hours different?
Every broker sets its own hours and shows them in its own server time. Check the symbol specification in MetaTrader for the exact times.
Source: Measured by FXSynapse AI on our broker's XAUUSD prices (server time UTC), one-hour bars on weekdays from 24 Sep 2025 to 24 Sep 2026. Other brokers' prices and hours differ slightly.
Also called: when does the gold market open, gold market open time, when does the gold market close, is gold traded 24/7, is gold closed on weekends, gold trading session
Related terms
A definition, not financial advice. Trading carries a risk of loss.