Gold weekend gap, measured
Over 251 weekends since 31 Oct 2021, gold reopened a median $2.26 (0.09%) away from Friday's close. 84% of the gaps closed within the first trading day, half of them within 22 minutes - but gaps of 0.5% or more (9% of weekends) closed only 32% of the time. Measured on minute data from the broker feed we record.
The last 10 weekends
| Reopened (UTC) | Friday close | Open | Gap | % | Closed in first day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-25 22:01 | 3,996.06 | 3,999.36 | +3.30 | +0.08% | after 1 min |
| 2026-10-18 22:01 | 4,165.15 | 4,166.61 | +1.46 | +0.04% | at once |
| 2026-10-11 22:01 | 4,194.99 | 4,191.81 | -3.18 | -0.08% | after 79 min |
| 2026-10-04 22:01 | 4,140.31 | 4,135.11 | -5.20 | -0.13% | after 1 min |
| 2026-09-27 22:01 | 4,285.90 | 4,270.30 | -15.60 | -0.36% | not closed |
| 2026-09-20 22:01 | 4,378.06 | 4,374.11 | -3.95 | -0.09% | after 3 min |
| 2026-09-13 22:05 | 4,349.30 | 4,339.58 | -9.72 | -0.22% | after 228 min |
| 2026-09-06 22:01 | 4,430.15 | 4,421.98 | -8.17 | -0.18% | after 31 min |
| 2026-08-30 22:01 | 4,456.13 | 4,439.04 | -17.09 | -0.38% | after 8 min |
| 2026-08-23 22:01 | 4,603.83 | 4,615.65 | +11.83 | +0.26% | after 144 min |
Gap = the first price after the weekend minus the last price before it (bid, minute bars). "Closed" - price traded back to Friday's close during the first 23 hours of trading.
The ten biggest gaps
| Reopened (UTC) | Friday close | Open | Gap | % | Closed in first day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-01 23:01 | 4,891.54 | 4,793.52 | -98.03 | -2.00% | not closed |
| 2022-02-27 23:05 | 1,889.00 | 1,921.03 | +32.03 | +1.70% | not closed |
| 2026-04-12 22:06 | 4,749.40 | 4,670.25 | -79.14 | -1.67% | after 1160 min |
| 2025-05-11 22:09 | 3,326.80 | 3,282.26 | -44.55 | -1.34% | not closed |
| 2026-01-18 23:09 | 4,596.59 | 4,655.36 | +58.77 | +1.28% | not closed |
| 2026-06-14 22:02 | 4,218.66 | 4,270.35 | +51.68 | +1.23% | not closed |
| 2026-04-19 22:01 | 4,832.67 | 4,774.48 | -58.19 | -1.20% | not closed |
| 2023-10-08 22:05 | 1,831.90 | 1,853.39 | +21.49 | +1.17% | not closed |
| 2024-04-14 22:09 | 2,344.38 | 2,369.11 | +24.72 | +1.05% | after 934 min |
| 2026-07-26 22:01 | 4,052.93 | 4,091.77 | +38.84 | +0.96% | not closed |
Ranked by percentage of Friday's close. Over 10 longer holiday weekends are counted separately and left out of these tables.
What it means for a trade
Gold does not trade between Friday 5:00 pm and Sunday 6:00 pm New York time, but news does not stop: whatever happens over the weekend is priced in at the Sunday reopen, and a stop-loss order placed beyond the gap is filled at the first available price, not at the stop level. In the typical weekend that costs a few dollars. In a weekend with a big gap it can cost tens of dollars an ounce: the widest gap since 2021 was $98.03 (2.00%), on 2026-02-01.
The statistic that matters is the split: small gaps close almost always (they are mostly spread and noise at the reopen), big gaps close in about one case in three. "Gaps always fill" is true for the gaps that do not matter. Gaps up closed 81% of the time (117 weekends), gaps down 86% (134 weekends). This is what happened, not a prediction of what the next gap will do.
Year by year
| Year | Weekends | Median gap | % of price | Gaps 0.5%+ | Gaps up | Closed in first day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 8 | $1.84 | 0.10% | 0 | 3 of 8 | 100% |
| 2022 | 50 | $1.84 | 0.11% | 3 | 22 of 50 | 90% |
| 2023 | 49 | $1.25 | 0.06% | 2 | 20 of 49 | 88% |
| 2024 | 51 | $1.74 | 0.07% | 1 | 21 of 51 | 84% |
| 2025 | 51 | $3.68 | 0.10% | 4 | 32 of 51 | 84% |
| 2026 | 42 | $12.44 | 0.29% | 12 | 19 of 42 | 67% |
Dollar gaps grow with the price (gold has more than doubled since 2021); the percentage is the fair comparison. Years are partial at both ends.
Is gold traded over the weekend?
No. Spot gold and COMEX gold futures are closed from Friday 5:00 pm to Sunday 6:00 pm New York time. Some brokers list separate weekend gold products (often called 24/7 or weekend gold) with their own prices; those are not the regular gold market and can differ from where gold reopens. The current gold price and the last quote before the weekend are on gold price now; exact opening times in your time zone are on is the gold market open?
How we measure
- Minute bars of gold (bid) from one broker feed we record, from 27 October 2021. A weekend is any pause of more than 40 hours between two minutes; pauses of 60 hours or more (holiday weekends) are counted separately.
- Gap = open of the first minute after the pause minus the close of the last minute before it. It is the gap in this feed; other brokers' gaps differ by cents.
- A gap is "closed" when, in the first 1,380 minutes (23 hours) after the reopen, price traded back to Friday's close.
How XAU Meter measures · Gold volatility · Gold after the news
Questions
What is the weekend gap in gold?
The difference between gold's last price on Friday (before the 5:00 pm New York close) and its first price on Sunday evening (6:00 pm New York). The market is closed in between, so news over the weekend is priced in at once.
How big is a typical weekend gap in gold?
A median $2.26 (0.09%) over 251 weekends since 31 Oct 2021; over the last 52 weekends $11.36. The widest was $98.03 (2.00%) on 1 Feb 2026.
Do gold gaps always fill?
No. 84% of weekend gaps closed within the first trading day, but gaps of 0.5% or more closed only 32% of the time. Small gaps are mostly reopen noise; big gaps are news.
How long does a gold gap take to close?
For the gaps that closed in the first day, the median was 22 minutes; 51% of all weekend gaps closed within the first hour.
Is gold traded on weekends?
Spot gold and gold futures are closed from Friday 5:00 pm to Sunday 6:00 pm New York time. Some brokers offer separate weekend gold products with their own prices; they are not the regular market.
Page data last updated: · Measured and edited by Adrian Troy · How we measure