XAU/USD trades almost around the clock, but liquidity and volatility are not the same at every hour. The four major sessions below are shown in UTC, with live open/closed status. All times are UTC — no local timezone guessing.
| Session | Open (UTC) | Close (UTC) | Typical character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 21:00 (Sun–Thu) | 06:00 | Thin, ranges |
| Tokyo | 00:00 | 09:00 | Moderate, Asian demand |
| London | 07:00 | 16:00 | Highest liquidity |
| New York | 12:00 | 21:00 | Highest volatility (overlap 12:00–16:00) |
The gold market closes at 21:00 UTC Friday and reopens 22:00 UTC Sunday. Daily maintenance on XAUAD runs 21:00–22:00 UTC — no new positions are accepted during that window, and open orders settle at the first quote after the reopen.
Times shown reflect standard UTC session boundaries. Actual liquidity in the first and last 30 minutes of each session is typically lower than the middle hours.