Guide · 2 min read
Gold swap explained: the overnight fee on XAUUSD
Short answer: The swap is a daily fee, or sometimes a credit, for holding a gold trade past the broker's rollover, usually around 5:00 pm New York time. Buy and sell trades get different swaps, and one day a week it is charged three times to cover the weekend. For trades held for days or weeks, the swap can cost more than the spread.
Published: 24 October 2026.
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A day trader who closes before the rollover never pays a swap. Anyone who holds gold overnight does, every night. Over a few weeks the swap can grow into the largest cost of a trade, so it belongs in every backtest and every plan.
When it is charged
- Daily: at the broker's rollover, for every trade open at that moment.
- Triple swap: once a week, three days' worth is charged to cover Saturday and Sunday. For gold many brokers use Wednesday; some use Friday.
- Holidays: some brokers add extra days around market holidays.
Why buy and sell differ
The swap starts from what it costs to finance the position: interest rates on the dollar and what it costs to borrow or lend gold itself. The broker then adds its own charge to both sides. That is why the buy swap and the sell swap are rarely mirror images, and why both can be a cost.
Read your own swap in MT5
Right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch, choose Specification and read:
- Swap type: in points, in money or as an interest rate.
- Swap long and Swap short: the daily amount for buy and sell trades.
- 3-day swap: the day the weekend is charged.
Open trades show their swap so far in the Trade tab, in the Swap column.
What it does to a trade
Work it out before you hold. Take the daily swap per lot from the Specification, multiply by the nights you expect to hold, and add the extra charges on the triple swap day. Compare that with the move you are aiming for. If the swap eats a large part of your target, the trade needs a bigger move or a shorter hold.
Backtests that leave out the swap overstate any rule that holds overnight. Our guide on what a real gold EA backtest should include lists the costs to check, and the gold spread guide covers the other cost you pay on every trade.
The Monthly Pass and the Lifetime Pass are software licences for your own MetaTrader account. They score every robot and strategy you run the same way, with costs inside every number. See the plans.
FAQ
What is a swap on gold?
A fee or credit for keeping a trade open past the daily rollover. It reflects the cost of financing the position overnight, plus the broker's charge.
When is the gold swap charged?
Once a day at the broker's rollover, usually around 5:00 pm New York time, for every trade still open at that moment. A trade opened and closed within the same day pays no swap.
Why is the swap different for buy and sell trades?
The two sides are financed differently, and the broker adds its charge to both. On gold the buy swap is often a cost, and the sell swap can be a smaller cost or a credit. It changes with interest rates.
What is the triple swap day?
One day a week the swap is charged three times to cover the weekend. For gold many brokers use Wednesday and some use Friday. The symbol's Specification in MT5 shows which day.
How do I see the swap in MT5?
Right-click XAUUSD in Market Watch and open Specification. Read Swap type, Swap long, Swap short and the 3-day swap day. Open trades show the swap so far in the Trade tab.
Are there swap-free accounts for gold?
Some brokers offer swap-free (Islamic) accounts. They often charge a different fee instead, such as a fixed charge after some days or a wider spread. Read the terms before you compare.
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An educational tool. It is not investment advice. Trading leveraged products such as gold CFDs carries a high risk of losing money, and you can lose all of it.
BaroqTech makes software. It is not investment advice and it does not manage money. Trading leveraged products such as gold CFDs carries a high risk of losing money, and you can lose all of it. Results from a test or from a demo account do not predict results on a real account.
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