™Spot gold (XAU/USD) trades almost 24 hours a day, five days a week. It follows the US futures week: it opens Sunday at 6:00 pm New York time, closes Friday at 5:00 pm New York time, and pauses for one hour every day from 5:00 to 6:00 pm New York time. Because the US changes its clocks and Pakistan, the UAE and India do not, the local times move by one hour twice a year.
Market open, close and daily break
| Pakistan (PKT) | UAE (GST) | India (IST) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week opens — US winter (early Nov – mid Mar) | Monday 04:00 | Monday 03:00 | Monday 04:30 |
| Week opens — US summer (mid Mar – early Nov) | Monday 03:00 | Monday 02:00 | Monday 03:30 |
| Daily break — US winter | 03:00 – 04:00 | 02:00 – 03:00 | 03:30 – 04:30 |
| Daily break — US summer | 02:00 – 03:00 | 01:00 – 02:00 | 02:30 – 03:30 |
| Week closes — US winter | Saturday 03:00 | Saturday 02:00 | Saturday 03:30 |
| Week closes — US summer | Saturday 02:00 | Saturday 01:00 | Saturday 02:30 |
Brokers can differ by a few minutes and may close earlier on holidays. Check your broker's contract specifications.
Trading sessions in your time
Gold is most active when Europe and the US are open. These are the usual session windows (London 08:00–17:00 local, New York 08:00–17:00 local, Tokyo 09:00–18:00 local):
| Session | Pakistan (PKT) | UAE (GST) | India (IST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asia (Tokyo) | 05:00 – 14:00 | 04:00 – 13:00 | 05:30 – 14:30 |
| London — winter | 13:00 – 22:00 | 12:00 – 21:00 | 13:30 – 22:30 |
| London — summer | 12:00 – 21:00 | 11:00 – 20:00 | 12:30 – 21:30 |
| New York — winter | 18:00 – 03:00 | 17:00 – 02:00 | 18:30 – 03:30 |
| New York — summer | 17:00 – 02:00 | 16:00 – 01:00 | 17:30 – 02:30 |
| London + New York overlap — winter | 18:00 – 22:00 | 17:00 – 21:00 | 18:30 – 22:30 |
| London + New York overlap — summer | 17:00 – 21:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 | 17:30 – 21:30 |
"Winter" and "summer" follow the UK and US clock changes, which happen on different dates in March and October/November — for a week or two the two sessions shift at different times.
When gold moves most
- The London–New York overlap is usually the most liquid and volatile window of the day.
- US economic data at 8:30 am New York time — jobs reports (NFP), inflation (CPI) — often moves gold sharply. That is 18:30 PKT / 17:30 UAE / 19:00 IST in US winter, and one hour earlier in US summer.
- The London open often sets the tone for the European day.
- The Asian session is usually quieter, with smaller ranges — except when there is major news from Asia.
What moves gold
Gold is priced in US dollars, so a stronger dollar (a rising DXY) tends to weigh on it, and higher US real yields make a non-yielding asset less attractive. Geopolitical stress and central-bank buying tend to support it. These relationships are tendencies that can break down for long periods; they are context, not rules.
The Gold Desk in LiveTradingAI
The Gold Desk shows live XAU/USD spot and futures, the DXY and real-yield context, and London / New York / Asia session clocks so you always know which session is live in your own time zone — free in the browser. Open the Gold Desk →