Gold (XAUUSD) Margin by Leverage (1 Lot Near 3,300)
| Leverage | Margin per lot | Notional controlled |
|---|---|---|
| 1:30 | ~$11,000 | ~$330,000 |
| 1:100 | ~$3,300 | ~$330,000 |
| 1:200 | ~$1,650 | ~$330,000 |
| 1:500 | ~$662 | ~$330,000 |
Why Gold Notional Dwarfs Forex Intuition
The intuition that trips people up is treating a gold lot like a forex lot. A standard forex lot is 100,000 units of a currency trading near 1, so its notional sits around 100,000. A gold lot is 100 ounces trading near several thousand, so its notional is three to four times larger, and the margin scales with it. Same lot number, very different capital tied up.
Brokers also disagree on gold margin because they apply different leverage tiers to metals than to major forex pairs, and some widen margin requirements around high-impact news. Always confirm the gold leverage in your account, then use this calculator to see the margin and the cushion to a margin call before you commit to a size.
