XAUAUD: gold in Australian dollars

• XAU
• AUD

What XAUAUD is

XAUAUD is the price of a troy ounce of gold quoted in Australian dollars (AUD). XAU is the code for gold and AUD is the quote currency. When you see XAUAUD on a chart, you see how many Australian dollars buy a troy ounce of gold at that moment.

At a broker such as Exness, XAUAUD is traded as a CFD (contract for difference). You do not own physical gold. You take a position on the price change, and profit or loss is settled in money. Gold quoted in US dollars is covered on our XAUUSD gold page. Other metals are on the Metals page.

How gold vs AUD is priced

Gold is traded worldwide mainly in US dollars. XAUAUD is in practice a cross price:

XAUAUD ≈ XAUUSD ÷ AUDUSD

This means XAUAUD moves for two separate reasons:

• Gold changes in US dollars. If XAUUSD rises and AUDUSD stays flat, XAUAUD rises.
• The Australian dollar changes against the US dollar. If AUDUSD falls and XAUUSD stays flat, XAUAUD rises, because each Australian dollar buys less gold.

When both move together, the effects can add up or cancel out. A trader who looks only at a gold chart in US dollars can miss half of what drives XAUAUD. Watch XAUUSD and AUDUSD side by side. See Currency pairs for how AUDUSD is quoted.

Australia as a gold producer

Australia is a major gold producer and exporter. This is one reason the Australian dollar is often called a "commodity currency": export income from metals and other raw materials affects demand for AUD.

In practice this creates a link that traders watch:

• At times, higher gold prices in US dollars go together with a firmer Australian dollar. In that case, part of the gold move is absorbed by the currency, and XAUAUD moves less than XAUUSD.
• At other times, the Australian dollar reacts more to interest rate decisions by the Reserve Bank of Australia, Chinese demand or global risk sentiment than to gold. Then XAUAUD and XAUUSD can move quite differently.

This relationship is not fixed and can break down without warning. Treat it as background to study, not as a trading rule. The same logic applies to XAUEUR gold in euro and XAUGBP gold in pounds.

Pip value and margin on XAUAUD

A pip is the standard unit of price change for an instrument. On XAUAUD, profit and loss are first calculated in AUD, the quote currency. They are then converted into your account currency, such as USD or PKR. Changes in the AUD rate therefore affect how much a pip is worth to you.

Margin is the part of your funds that is set aside to keep a position open. It depends on the contract size, the price and the leverage applied. Leverage on metals can change during periods with higher margin requirements, for example around major news.

Exness does not publish a separate XAUAUD specification in our sourced data. Before you trade, check the contract size, minimum and maximum volume, spread, leverage and trading hours in the platform specification, for example in MetaTrader 5. Do not assume the values are the same as for XAUUSD.

Swaps and holding positions overnight

A swap is a charge or credit for keeping a position open overnight. Exness states that by default all accounts are swap-free on listed instruments; the status can be lost, and its swap-free list includes XAUAUD. Your swap-free status depends on your trading activity. Check the current condition in the Exness personal area. Our Swap fees page explains how swaps work.

Risk and the Pakistan context

Leveraged CFD trading can lose money fast. A gold move and an AUD move in the same direction can double the effect on your position. Set your position size before you enter. Read Risk management first.

In Pakistan, per the SBP, the purchase of offshore forex/margin/CFD products by Pakistani residents violates section 4(1) of FERA 1947. Read Law and regulators before you open an account. For the local physical gold market, see Gold in Pakistan.

Frequent questions

What does XAUAUD mean?

It is the price of a troy ounce of gold in Australian dollars. XAU stands for gold and AUD for the Australian dollar.

Why does XAUAUD move when gold in US dollars is flat?

Because the AUDUSD rate has changed. A weaker Australian dollar raises XAUAUD, and a stronger one lowers it.

Is XAUAUD the same as XAUUSD?

No. Both show the price of gold, but XAUAUD also includes the AUD/USD exchange rate. Its moves can be larger or smaller than those of XAUUSD.

Where do I find the XAUAUD contract size and leverage at Exness?

In the instrument specification in your trading platform or the Exness personal area. Our Calculators page helps you estimate pip value and margin once you have those values.

Does Australia's gold production decide the price of XAUAUD?

No. It is one background factor for the Australian dollar. Interest rates, global demand and risk sentiment also affect AUD and gold.