MidasGold weekend gap: how big is the Monday open gap on XAUUSD
Reviewed
Across 98 reopens after a pause of 24 hours or more (93 weekends and 5 holiday pauses) from 2 Jan 2025 to 26 Oct 2026, the gap between gold's last price before the pause and its first price after it had a median of $5.28 and a mean of $13.81 (0.14% and 0.33% of price). 39.8% of reopens gapped $10 or more and 12.2% gapped $30 or more; the largest was −$111.94 (−2.36%) on 12 Apr 2026. Gaps were larger in 2026 (median $15.16) than in 2025 ($2.33).
How big the gap is
The absolute size of the gap in dollars and as a percentage of Friday's last price. Direction is ignored here and shown below.
| Group | Reopens | Median | Mean | 75th percentile | 90th percentile | Largest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All reopens, dollars | 98 | $5.28 | $13.81 | $18.66 | $31.28 | $111.94 |
| All reopens, % of price | 98 | 0.14% | 0.33% | 0.43% | 0.80% | 2.36% |
| 2025, dollars | 54 | $2.33 | $7.25 | $7.00 | $19.04 | $51.54 |
| 2026, dollars | 44 | $15.16 | $21.87 | $27.35 | $50.59 | $111.94 |
Direction: 49.0% of the gaps were up and 51.0% down. The 2026 numbers cover reopens up to 26 Oct 2026.
How often the gap exceeds $1, $5, $10, $20, $50
Share of the 98 reopens whose absolute gap was at least the amount in the first column.
| Gap size | Share of reopens | Count |
|---|---|---|
| ≥ $1 | 83.7% | 82 of 98 |
| ≥ $3 | 59.2% | 58 of 98 |
| ≥ $5 | 50.0% | 49 of 98 |
| ≥ $10 | 39.8% | 39 of 98 |
| ≥ $20 | 20.4% | 20 of 98 |
| ≥ $30 | 12.2% | 12 of 98 |
| ≥ $50 | 6.1% | 6 of 98 |
Closing the gap: in 59.2% of reopens price traded again at Friday's closing level within the first hour. None of the 15 largest gaps below did.
The 15 largest gaps
Times are UTC. The gap is the first price after the reopen minus the last price before the pause. “Back in 1 h” says whether price traded at the Friday close level in the first hour after the reopen. Rows marked “holiday pause” are pauses of 24 hours or more that did not start on a Friday.
| # | Last price before | Reopen | Close | Open | Gap | % of price | Back in 1 h | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-04-10 20:59 | 2026-04-12 22:00 | $4,746.94 | $4,635.00 | −$111.94 | −2.36% | no | weekend |
| 2 | 2026-02-27 21:59 | 2026-03-01 23:00 | $5,277.42 | $5,372.20 | +$94.78 | +1.80% | no | weekend |
| 3 | 2026-01-30 21:59 | 2026-02-01 23:06 | $4,895.12 | $4,817.60 | −$77.52 | −1.58% | no | weekend |
| 4 | 2026-04-17 20:59 | 2026-04-19 22:00 | $4,829.12 | $4,767.40 | −$61.71 | −1.28% | no | weekend |
| 5 | 2026-06-12 20:59 | 2026-06-14 22:00 | $4,217.77 | $4,273.10 | +$55.33 | +1.31% | no | weekend |
| 6 | 2025-05-09 20:59 | 2025-05-11 22:00 | $3,323.34 | $3,271.80 | −$51.54 | −1.55% | no | weekend |
| 7 | 2025-10-24 20:59 | 2025-10-26 22:00 | $4,111.56 | $4,064.05 | −$47.50 | −1.16% | no | weekend |
| 8 | 2026-07-24 20:59 | 2026-07-26 22:00 | $4,049.12 | $4,088.65 | +$39.52 | +0.98% | no | weekend |
| 9 | 2026-07-31 20:59 | 2026-08-02 22:00 | $4,043.24 | $4,081.94 | +$38.70 | +0.96% | no | weekend |
| 10 | 2026-05-08 20:59 | 2026-05-10 22:00 | $4,712.65 | $4,681.25 | −$31.40 | −0.67% | no | weekend |
| 11 | 2025-04-04 20:59 | 2025-04-06 22:00 | $3,038.00 | $3,006.76 | −$31.23 | −1.03% | no | weekend |
| 12 | 2026-01-16 21:59 | 2026-01-18 23:00 | $4,595.52 | $4,625.75 | +$30.24 | +0.66% | no | weekend |
| 13 | 2026-06-30 23:59 | 2026-07-02 00:00 | $4,005.49 | $4,034.98 | +$29.49 | +0.74% | no | holiday pause |
| 14 | 2026-01-02 21:59 | 2026-01-04 23:00 | $4,331.58 | $4,360.88 | +$29.30 | +0.68% | no | weekend |
| 15 | 2025-12-31 21:58 | 2026-01-02 00:00 | $4,318.68 | $4,347.80 | +$29.12 | +0.67% | no | holiday pause |
Holiday pauses in the data
Besides ordinary weekends the data has 5 pauses of 24 hours or more that did not start on a Friday. They are counted in all numbers on this page, because a grid or a stop meets them the same way.
| Last price before (UTC) | Reopen (UTC) | Pause, hours | Gap | % of price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-17 20:58 | 2025-04-20 22:00 | 73 | +$4.91 | +0.15% |
| 2025-12-24 18:43 | 2025-12-26 00:00 | 29 | +$15.85 | +0.35% |
| 2025-12-31 21:58 | 2026-01-02 00:00 | 26 | +$29.12 | +0.67% |
| 2026-04-02 20:58 | 2026-04-05 22:00 | 73 | −$24.16 | −0.52% |
| 2026-06-30 23:59 | 2026-07-02 00:00 | 24 | +$29.49 | +0.74% |
What this means for a grid and for a stop
A gap is price skipping levels. A pending order or a stop placed inside the gap is not traded at its own price: it may be filled at the reopen price, which can be far from the level. 39.8% of reopens had a gap of $10 or more and 12.2% had $30 or more; a grid left open over a weekend has to be sized with this in mind.
To see what a particular grid does on these ranges, use the grid calculator (deposit, step and number of orders) and the Midas Grid emulator, which replays real ticks. This page is descriptive: past movement does not predict future movement, and it is not advice to trade.
How we measured
- Source. Dukascopy XAUUSD bid tick data, aggregated by us into hourly open, high, low and close. Prices are US dollars per ounce; all times are UTC. Bid only: no spread, commission or swap, and no trading results of any strategy.
- Period. 2 Jan 2025 to 26 Oct 2026: 462 trading days, 10,418 full hours and 2,283 four-hour blocks. “Last 3 months” means days from 27 Jul 2026. Numbers were generated on 29 Oct 2026.
- Gap. The first price after a pause of 24 hours or more minus the last price before it (open minus close, so a gap up is positive). “Filled within the first hour” means that price traded at the Friday close level during the first hour after the reopen. Of the 98 pauses, 93 are Friday-to-Sunday weekends; the other 5 are holiday pauses.
- The numbers file. All figures on this page come from one file, gold_moves.json; there are no other sources and no estimates.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the average gold weekend gap?
Over 98 reopens from 2 Jan 2025 to 26 Oct 2026 the absolute gap had a median of $5.28 and a mean of $13.81 (median 0.14%, mean 0.33% of price). One gap in ten was larger than $31.28. The largest was $111.94, on the reopen of 12 Apr 2026.
How often is the gap bigger than $10 or $20?
A gap of at least $10 happened at 39.8% of the reopens, at least $20 at 20.4%, at least $30 at 12.2% and at least $50 at 6.1%. A gap of at least $1 happened at 83.7% of the reopens.
Does gold gap up or down more often?
In this period 49.0% of the gaps were up and 51.0% were down, so there is no clear direction. Of the 15 largest gaps, 8 were up and 7 were down.
Does the gap get filled?
In 59.2% of the reopens price traded again at Friday's closing price within the first hour after the reopen. None of the 15 largest gaps was closed within the first hour.
Are gaps bigger in 2026 than in 2025?
In dollars, yes: the median absolute gap was $2.33 in 2025 (54 reopens) and $15.16 in 2026 (44 reopens); the mean was $7.25 and $21.87. Price was also higher in 2026, and this page does not separate the reasons.
Do the numbers include holiday pauses?
Yes. The 98 reopens are 93 ordinary weekends and 5 other pauses of 24 hours or more (holiday breaks), which are marked in the table of the largest gaps. Past gaps do not predict future ones.
These are the ranges a grid Expert Advisor works inside.Midas Grid is a grid EA for gold on MT5; its panel shows the room to stop-out for your account and settings.