When does gold move? Hour-by-hour volatility from ten years of data
Gold trades almost around the clock, but it does not move evenly. Using every one-hour candle from October 2016 to August 2026, here is when gold is busy, when it is quiet, and what that means for your practice.
How we measured
For each one-hour candle we took the range (high minus low) and divided it by the candle's open. Working in percent lets us compare 2017, when gold was around $1,250, with 2026, when it traded above $4,000. We then averaged the ranges for each hour of the day.
The United States moves its clocks twice a year, and the busiest hours of the gold market move with them. So the chart shows US summer time (March to November) and US winter time (November to March) as separate lines.
Average one-hour range by hour of day (UTC)
High minus low of each 1-hour candle as a % of its open, Oct 2016 – Aug 2026
Show as a table
| Hour (UTC) | US summer time (Mar–Nov) | US winter time (Nov–Mar) |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00–1:00 UTC | 0.24% | 0.21% |
| 1:00–2:00 UTC | 0.32% | 0.30% |
| 2:00–3:00 UTC | 0.22% | 0.22% |
| 3:00–4:00 UTC | 0.18% | 0.18% |
| 4:00–5:00 UTC | 0.16% | 0.15% |
| 5:00–6:00 UTC | 0.23% | 0.20% |
| 6:00–7:00 UTC | 0.27% | 0.22% |
| 7:00–8:00 UTC | 0.29% | 0.25% |
| 8:00–9:00 UTC | 0.26% | 0.29% |
| 9:00–10:00 UTC | 0.23% | 0.24% |
| 10:00–11:00 UTC | 0.23% | 0.22% |
| 11:00–12:00 UTC | 0.27% | 0.23% |
| 12:00–13:00 UTC | 0.46% | 0.25% |
| 13:00–14:00 UTC | 0.47% | 0.44% |
| 14:00–15:00 UTC | 0.46% | 0.45% |
| 15:00–16:00 UTC | 0.35% | 0.45% |
| 16:00–17:00 UTC | 0.27% | 0.33% |
| 17:00–18:00 UTC | 0.26% | 0.26% |
| 18:00–19:00 UTC | 0.25% | 0.26% |
| 19:00–20:00 UTC | 0.23% | 0.24% |
| 20:00–21:00 UTC | 0.16% | 0.22% |
| 21:00–22:00 UTC | — | 0.15% |
| 22:00–23:00 UTC | 0.22% | — |
| 23:00–0:00 UTC | 0.18% | 0.24% |
What the hours show
- The busiest block is 12:00–15:00 UTC in US summer time and 13:00–16:00 UTC in winter. This window holds the New York open, US economic data at 8:30 New York time, and the London afternoon. An average hour here moves about 0.46%, roughly three times the quietest hour.
- The quietest hours are 03:00–05:00 UTC, the Asian lunch break before Europe wakes up. The 04:00 UTC hour averages about 0.15%.
- Two smaller bumps stand out. The first is at 01:00 UTC, when Tokyo is mid-morning and the Shanghai Gold Exchange opens at 9:00 Beijing time. The second is at 07:00–08:00 UTC, when European trading starts.
- In dollars, over the last 12 months, the 14:00 UTC hour averaged a $31.59 range, while the 01:00 UTC hour averaged $29.76, almost as much. Asian hours have clearly grown more active during the 2025–26 rally. The quietest hour, 04:00 UTC, averaged $13.06.
By trading session
The game labels every question with its session. Here is how much an average hour moves in each one.
| Session (local clocks) | Avg. 1h range, % of price | Avg. 1h range, last 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney (NY 17:00 → Tokyo 9:00) | 0.21% | $20.99 | |
| Tokyo (Tokyo 9:00 → London 8:00) | 0.23% | $20.89 | |
| London (London 8:00 → NY 8:00) | 0.25% | $18.19 | |
| London–NY overlap (NY 8:00 → London 16:30) | 0.43% | $29.82 | |
| New York (London 16:30 → NY 17:00) | 0.23% | $18.09 | |
| Each 1-hour candle is assigned to the session it starts in, using each city's own clock, so summer time is handled. Percentages cover Oct 2016 – Aug 2026; dollar figures cover Sep 2025 – Aug 2026. | |||
The London–New York overlap stands out at 0.43% per hour, against 0.21–0.25% in the other sessions. The recent dollar figures add a twist. Over the last 12 months, the Tokyo session ($20.89 per hour) was busier than London ($18.19) or the New York afternoon ($18.09).
By day of the week
| Day | Avg. high–low, % of price | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1.37% | |
| Tuesday | 1.39% | |
| Wednesday | 1.42% | |
| Thursday | 1.44% | |
| Friday | 1.47% | |
| Trading days end at 17:00 New York time. Short Sunday openings are left out. | ||
The differences are small, from 1.37% on Monday to 1.47% on Friday. Friday is slightly busier, partly because the US jobs report comes out on the first Friday of most months. These differences are too small to plan around.
What this means when you practice
- Use the session label. A 15-minute breakout at 13:30 UTC happens during the busiest hours of the day. One at 04:00 UTC happens in the quietest hour and often fades.
- Expect small candles in quiet hours. In the close-after-N mode, tiny drifts decide many answers there. Passing is often the best call.
- Let ATR do the scaling. In TP/SL mode the stop and target come from ATR(14), so they widen automatically when the market is busy and tighten when it is quiet.
- If you trade for real, most of the day's range is made in the busy window, and spreads are usually tightest then. The quiet hours and the minutes around the daily break at 17:00 New York time are where spreads tend to widen.