Where gold's stop orders are resting right now.
Every obvious high and low on the gold chart collects stop-losses and breakout orders. This map marks them from our own price feed, shows which were already taken today, how far each one is in pips, and how often each kind was taken in 116 days of our data.
Interactive gold liquidity map
Indicative 1-hour candles · delayed 15 min · rounded to $0.10 · not a live quote. Each level starts at the candle where it formed (dot); a dashed line ends at the candle that swept it.
Read-out
- Gold was at 3,897.43 at 09:00 UTC (indicative price, delayed at least 15 minutes).
- The nearest resting buy-side liquidity is the swing high at 3,927.04, 296 pips above.
- The nearest resting sell-side liquidity is the swing low at 3,894.07, 34 pips below.
- Taken so far today: equal highs (3,948.11) in Asia; previous day high (3,955.00) in Asia, then price closed back inside; Asia session low (3,921.40) in London, then price closed back inside.
- 4 smaller swing points were also traded through.
- The heaviest pool on the map is the previous week low at 3,870.32 (it lines up with 1 other level).
Level ladder
Chart and data provided by TradingView and loaded from TradingView only when you open this tab. Our liquidity levels are on the first tab. Educational only, not financial advice.
Educational chart analysis only · not financial advice. The map shows where orders commonly rest and what happened at similar levels in our data. It does not predict direction and is not a recommendation to buy or sell. Prices shown are indicative and delayed at least 15 minutes; distances use $1 = 10 pips.
What 116 days of gold data say about liquidity
We ran the same rules as the map over every OANDA XAU/USD 15-minute candle from 30 April 2026 to 9 October 2026. No sample picking: every trading day with enough data is counted. Gold trended down in this window (from about 4,630 to about 4,195), which tilts the results toward lows being taken. Each figure shows how many days or events it is based on and a 95% range (Wilson score interval): with a sample this size the true rate could sit anywhere in that range.
Experimental · based on our own data · past behaviour, not a prediction · study window 30 Apr 2026 – 9 Oct 2026
91%
103 of 113 days · 95% range 84–95%
The Asia range broke first in London
When gold left its 20:00–24:00 New York range, the first side taken was taken in the London hours.
97%
113 of 116 days · 95% range 93–99%
At least one side of the Asia range was taken
Both sides went on 29 days. Neither side went on only 3.
77%
109 of 142 breaks · 95% range 69–83%
Asia-range breaks that closed back within 1 hour
After the first trade through the Asia high or low, an M15 candle closed back inside the range within an hour. Median overshoot: $2.98.
46% / 57%
53 of 115 days · 95% range 37–55% / 65 of 115 days · 95% range 47–65%
Previous day high / low taken
When the previous day's low was taken, price closed back above it within an hour 85% of the time (n = 65, 95% range 74–91%); 68% for the high (n = 53, 55–79%).
81%
298 of 366 pools · 95% range 77–85%
Equal highs and lows taken within 24 hours
Two or more M15 swing points within $1.20 that were never traded through. Median wait: 1.8 hours. Pools often overlap in time, so the true uncertainty is wider than the range shown.
27%
62 of 232 highs and lows · 95% range 21–33%
Daily highs and lows printed in the first 3 hours after the open
18:00–21:00 New York. The other busy window is 09:00–11:00 New York, around the US data releases and cash open.
When the day's high and low printed
Count of trading days by the New York hour of the daily high and the daily low (day runs 18:00 to 17:00 New York).
Show the numbers as a table
| New York hour | Daily high (days) | Daily low (days) |
|---|---|---|
| 18:00 | 13 | 10 |
| 19:00 | 7 | 8 |
| 20:00 | 14 | 10 |
| 21:00 | 9 | 8 |
| 22:00 | 6 | 4 |
| 23:00 | 1 | 4 |
| 00:00 | 1 | 1 |
| 01:00 | 3 | 6 |
| 02:00 | 1 | 0 |
| 03:00 | 4 | 3 |
| 04:00 | 1 | 4 |
| 05:00 | 0 | 1 |
| 06:00 | 1 | 1 |
| 07:00 | 2 | 1 |
| 08:00 | 6 | 3 |
| 09:00 | 10 | 12 |
| 10:00 | 10 | 13 |
| 11:00 | 8 | 5 |
| 12:00 | 2 | 4 |
| 13:00 | 5 | 1 |
| 14:00 | 6 | 4 |
| 15:00 | 4 | 8 |
| 16:00 | 2 | 5 |
| 17:00 | 0 | 0 |
Method: sessions on the New York clock (Asia range 20:00–24:00, London 00:00–07:00, New York 07:00–16:00). "Taken" means a candle traded beyond the level; "closed back" means a 15-minute close back on the other side within four candles. Read the editorial policy for how we check our numbers.
Three things the map shows
Glow means resting orders
Gold glow sits above price (buy-side), blue below (sell-side). Brighter means a heavier pool: weekly levels outweigh daily ones, and levels that line up stack together.
Dashed lines were taken today
When price trades through a level the glow switches off and a marker shows where it happened, and whether a candle closed back inside soon after.
Every level carries our data
Tap any level to see how far away it is in pips and how often that kind of level was taken in our study. Learn the idea in liquidity sweeps on gold.
Liquidity map FAQ
What is liquidity in gold trading?
Liquidity here means resting orders: stop-losses and breakout orders that cluster just beyond obvious highs and lows, such as the previous day's high, the Asia session range or equal highs. When price trades through such a level those orders fill, which is why moves often accelerate or reverse there.
How does XAU Setups build the liquidity map?
From our own OANDA XAU/USD 1-minute price feed, grouped into 15-minute candles. Fixed rules mark the previous week and day highs and lows, the 20:00–24:00 New York Asia range, equal highs and lows (two or more swing points within $1.20 that were never traded through) and recent swing points. A level counts as taken when a candle trades beyond it. The map only uses candles that closed at least 15 minutes ago. The chart shows indicative 1-hour candles, delayed 15 minutes and rounded to $0.10; it is not a live quote, and we do not publish raw price history.
Does the liquidity map tell me when to buy or sell?
No. It shows where orders commonly rest and what happened at similar levels in the past. It does not say which way price will go and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell. Educational chart analysis only, not financial advice.
Where do the percentages come from?
From 116 trading days of OANDA XAU/USD 15-minute candles, 30 April 2026 to 9 October 2026, run through the same rules as the live map. Gold fell from about 4,630 to about 4,195 in that window, which tilts the results toward lows being taken. We will re-run the study as more data is stored.
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Daily market notes and lessons in the free Telegram community. Educational chart analysis only · not financial advice.