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XAUUSD Volatility & ATR

Is gold quiet or wild right now — and is your stop realistic for the current conditions?

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Volatility right now ATR(14) vs. its normal

TimeframeATR(14)Normalvs normalPercentileReading
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Stop-loss reality check

Distance from entry to stop, in dollars of gold price.

What is ATR and why does it matter for gold?

ATR (Average True Range) measures how far XAUUSD typically moves per candle. This gauge shows the live 14-period ATR on six timeframes and compares it with what's normal for the same time of day, labelling conditions Quiet, Normal, Elevated or Extreme so you can size stops and targets to the market you're actually trading.

How the gauge decides "normal"

Gold is naturally quieter in the Asian session than during London and New York. Comparing a 3:00 AM reading with a 9:00 AM one would be misleading, so for 5-minute to 1-hour charts the gauge compares the current ATR with readings at the same hour of day over recent sessions. Four-hour and daily ATR are compared with their last 200 readings.

Using ATR to set a gold stop-loss

Enter your stop in the stop-loss check above to see how many ATRs it is and how often recent candles moved further. Then size the trade with the XAUUSD lot size calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good stop-loss for XAUUSD?

Many traders place gold stops 1 to 2 times the ATR of the timeframe they trade. Stops under 1 ATR are frequently hit by normal noise; wider stops need smaller position sizes.

What is the average daily range of gold?

It changes with volatility. The Daily row in the table above shows the current 14-day ATR for XAUUSD and how it compares with the last 200 days.

What does ATR 14 mean?

ATR(14) is the average true range over the last 14 candles, using J. Welles Wilder's smoothing from his 1978 book New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems. True range includes gaps from the previous close.

Why is gold so volatile?

Gold reacts quickly to US interest-rate expectations, the dollar, Treasury yields, inflation data and geopolitical news. Releases like CPI and nonfarm payrolls can move XAUUSD tens of dollars in minutes.

Related XAUUSD tools

XAUUSD Lot Size CalculatorSize any gold trade from your risk and stop.XAUUSD RSI & Stretch MeterIs gold overbought or oversold right now?XAUUSD Session RangesHow far gold moves each session, live vs typical.

See all XAUUSD trading tools or the XAUUSD signals track record.

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How it works. ATR(14) is the average true range over the last 14 candles (Wilder's method). For 5-minute to 1-hour charts, "normal" is the median ATR at the same hour of day over roughly the last 17 trading days, because gold is naturally quieter in Asia than during London and New York. For 4-hour and daily, it's the median of the last 200 readings. Readings: Quiet below the 25th percentile, Normal 25th–75th, Elevated 75th–95th, Extreme above the 95th. The stop check compares your stop with the current ATR and counts how many recent candles had a high-to-low range bigger than your stop.