Spot gold, XAU/USD, opens at 23:00 UK time on Sunday and closes at 22:00 UK time on Friday. In between it trades around the clock, apart from a one-hour break every evening from 22:00 to 23:00 UK. In New York time, where the clock is set, that is Sunday 18:00 to Friday 17:00, with the break from 17:00 to 18:00.
Those UK times hold in winter and summer, except in the weeks when the UK and US clocks are out of step, and the next of those is close. From 25 to 31 October 2026 everything is an hour earlier: gold opens at 22:00 on Sunday 25 October, breaks from 21:00 to 22:00 each day and closes at 21:00 on Friday 30 October.
Why New York sets the clock
Spot gold at your broker trades on the same weekly clock as COMEX gold futures on CME Globex, and that clock is kept in New York time: five sessions of 23 hours, with the one-hour break between them. The UK and the US both move their clocks in spring and autumn, so London stays five hours ahead of New York for most of the year and gold's UK hours stay put through winter and summer.
Gold's hours in your time zone
Days are local, so in Dubai gold's week runs from early Monday to early Saturday.
Winter, November to mid March (week of 6 December 2026)
| City | Opens | Daily break | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Sun 18:00 | 17:00 to 18:00 | Fri 17:00 |
| London | Sun 23:00 | 22:00 to 23:00 | Fri 22:00 |
| Paris, Berlin, Lagos | Mon 00:00 | 23:00 to 00:00 | Fri 23:00 |
| Johannesburg | Mon 01:00 | 00:00 to 01:00 | Sat 00:00 |
| Dubai | Mon 03:00 | 02:00 to 03:00 | Sat 02:00 |
| Mumbai, Delhi | Mon 04:30 | 03:30 to 04:30 | Sat 03:30 |
| Singapore, Kuala Lumpur | Mon 07:00 | 06:00 to 07:00 | Sat 06:00 |
| Sydney | Mon 10:00 | 09:00 to 10:00 | Sat 09:00 |
Summer, April to late October (week of 4 July 2027)
| City | Opens | Daily break | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Sun 18:00 | 17:00 to 18:00 | Fri 17:00 |
| London | Sun 23:00 | 22:00 to 23:00 | Fri 22:00 |
| Paris, Berlin | Mon 00:00 | 23:00 to 00:00 | Fri 23:00 |
| Lagos | Sun 23:00 | 22:00 to 23:00 | Fri 22:00 |
| Johannesburg | Mon 00:00 | 23:00 to 00:00 | Fri 23:00 |
| Dubai | Mon 02:00 | 01:00 to 02:00 | Sat 01:00 |
| Mumbai, Delhi | Mon 03:30 | 02:30 to 03:30 | Sat 02:30 |
| Singapore, Kuala Lumpur | Mon 06:00 | 05:00 to 06:00 | Sat 05:00 |
| Sydney | Mon 08:00 | 07:00 to 08:00 | Sat 07:00 |
The New York, London, Paris and Berlin rows are the same in both tables. Everywhere else in the tables except Sydney, the summer times are an hour earlier, because New York changes its clocks and those cities keep theirs. Their times switch on New York's dates, 1 November 2026 and 14 March 2027, not on the UK's.
Sydney moves by two hours between the tables, because it changes its own clocks in the opposite season, on 4 October 2026 and 4 April 2027. From 4 to 31 October 2026, and from 14 March to 3 April 2027, Sydney and New York are both on summer time, so Sydney sits between the tables: gold opens there at 09:00 on Monday, breaks from 08:00 to 09:00 and closes at 08:00 on Saturday.
The daily break
Every trading day from 22:00 to 23:00 UK, gold stops. Nothing trades for that hour, so nothing fills: no new trades, no closes, no pending orders, stops or targets. The forex pairs carry on through the same hour, with only a few quiet minutes at the rollover. The minutes either side of gold's break bring wider spreads, and why gold's spread jumps at night covers what that does to a stop.
When the UK and US clocks are out of step
The UK and the US change their clocks on different Sundays. For the days in between, London is four hours ahead of New York instead of five, and because gold follows New York, every UK time moves an hour earlier, as do the Paris and Berlin times, which change their clocks with the UK.
| UK time | Opens | Daily break | Closes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal weeks | Sun 23:00 | 22:00 to 23:00 | Fri 22:00 |
| 25 to 31 October 2026 | Sun 22:00 | 21:00 to 22:00 | Fri 21:00 |
| 14 to 27 March 2027 | Sun 22:00 | 21:00 to 22:00 | Fri 21:00 |
This autumn the UK goes back on Sunday 25 October and the US on Sunday 1 November, and the Sunday 25 October open is already on the new UK time. In spring the US goes first, on 14 March 2027, and the UK follows on 28 March. US data moves with the clock too, and the forex market hours guide sets out that week in UK time, Federal Reserve decision included.
MT5 runs on server time
Your broker's exact session for its gold symbol is in MT5: right-click the symbol in Market Watch, choose Specification and look under Sessions. Those times, like every clock inside MT5, are the broker's server time, which is often not your time.
The Market Watch window shows the server time at the top. Compare it with your own clock once, and again after each clock change. For example, if Market Watch shows 01:10 while your phone in London says 23:10, the server is two hours ahead, and a session listed as opening at 01:00 opens at 23:00 your time. Those figures are an illustration, not any broker's offset.
Fixed moments inside the day
Inside the open hours, gold keeps fixed appointments of its own, such as the LBMA Gold Price auctions at 10:30 and 15:00 London time. Which hours are worth trading is a different question, answered in the best time to trade gold.
Weekends and holidays
From 22:00 on Friday to 23:00 on Sunday, UK time, nothing trades: Friday 17:00 to Sunday 18:00 in New York. The Sunday open can be away from Friday's close, a gap, and a stop inside that gap fills at the first available price, not at the level you typed. Forex reopens an hour earlier, at 22:00 UK, so on Sunday night EUR/USD can be moving while gold is still shut.
Around US and UK public holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, brokers shorten or close gold sessions and publish the schedule in advance. Read your broker's notice before those dates.
The short version
- Gold opens at 23:00 UK on Sunday, breaks from 22:00 to 23:00 every day and closes at 22:00 UK on Friday.
- From 25 to 31 October 2026 and from 14 to 27 March 2027, all three are an hour earlier in the UK.
- Outside the UK, take your city's row from the winter or summer table.
- Check your broker's own session under Specification, Sessions, and convert it from server time.
- Before a weekend or a holiday, decide whether you accept a stop filling at the first price after a gap.
When our signals arrive
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