Guide · 3 min read
Trailing stop on gold: how it works in MT5
Short answer: A trailing stop moves your stop loss behind the price as gold moves your way, at a fixed distance, and never moves back. In MT5 the built-in trailing stop runs in your terminal, so it stops following the price when the terminal is closed. Set the distance wider than gold's normal noise, measured in points: on a two-decimal gold quote, 100 points is 1 dollar.
Published: 24 October 2026.
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A trailing stop answers one question: how much of an open win are you willing to give back? Too tight and normal wiggles close good trades. Too loose and you give back most of the move.
How it works in MT5
- Step 1Open a trade with a stop loss.
- Step 2In the Trade tab, right-click the trade and choose Trailing stop, then a distance or Custom.
- Step 3Once the price is that far in profit, MT5 moves the stop up behind it (down, for a sell) each time the price makes a new best.
The stop never moves back. If the price turns by the full distance, the stop is hit and the trade closes.
The catch: your terminal must be running
The trailing logic lives in your MetaTrader terminal, not on the broker's server. Close MT5, lose the internet, or let the computer sleep, and the stop stays where it last was. That is why traders who rely on trails run MT5 on a VPS. Many EAs trail stops in their own code, which also needs the terminal running.
Picking the distance
- Points first: gold is usually quoted to two decimals, so 100 points = 1.00 dollar of price. Check your symbol's digits in Specification. Our guide to what a pip is worth on gold explains points and pips.
- Wider than the noise: gold's normal back-and-forth changes with the hour (see the best time to trade gold) and with the month. Many traders scale the trail with the Average True Range.
- Past the spread: sell trades close at the ask. A trail close to the price can be hit by a spread that widens around news. See the gold spread guide.
What it does to results
A trail changes the shape of your results: fewer, larger wins and more small ones that gave back part of the move. Whether that beats a fixed target depends on your rules and the market. Test both on prices the rules were not tuned on, with costs inside, before you trust either. Start from the stop itself: how to set a stop loss on gold.
Try a trailing stop on demo money
A Baroq AI agent can move its stop to break-even, or trail the price by a number of ATRs. Set either on a demo agent and read in its log each time the stop moved.
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 trailing stop?
A stop loss that moves in your favour as the price moves your way, keeping the same distance behind it. It never moves back. If the price turns by that distance, the trade closes.
How do I set a trailing stop in MT5?
Right-click the open trade in the Trade tab, choose Trailing stop and pick a distance in points, or Custom. The trade needs a stop loss already set, or the trail sets one when it starts.
Does the MT5 trailing stop work when my computer is off?
No. MT5's built-in trailing stop runs in your terminal, not on the broker's server. If the terminal is closed or loses connection, the stop stays where it last was. A VPS keeps the terminal running.
What distance should a trailing stop on gold have?
Wider than gold's normal back-and-forth on your time frame, or ordinary noise closes the trade early. Many traders base it on the Average True Range. Test the distance on past prices with costs inside.
Is a trailing stop better than a fixed target?
Neither is better in general. A trail keeps some big moves a fixed target would cut short, and gives back part of every win before it closes. Which one suits your rules is something to test, not assume.
Why are MT5 trailing distances in points?
MT5 measures them in the symbol's smallest price step. Gold is usually quoted to two decimals, so 100 points is 1.00 dollar. Check the digits in the symbol's Specification.
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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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