What Are Gold Futures (GC)?
Gold futures (GC) are standardized contracts on CME that let you trade the price of gold without touching a single ounce of metal. One GC contract controls 100 troy ounces of gold, and every tick in price has a clear dollar impact. If you want to trade gold with real liquidity instead of broker fairy dust, this is the product.
What the GC Contract Actually Represents
When you trade GC, you’re not buying jewelry or bars. You’re trading a price agreement on 100 troy ounces of exchange-grade gold for a future month. Your P&L is based on how the price moves between your entry and exit, not on you taking delivery of bars.
| Specification | GC Contract |
|---|---|
| Exchange | CME / COMEX |
| Contract Size | 100 troy ounces |
| Price Quotation | USD per ounce |
| Minimum Tick | 0.10 |
| Tick Value | $10 per tick (0.10 × 100 oz) |
| Typical Active Months | Feb, Apr, Jun, Aug, Dec |
If GC is too heavy for your account, there’s the micro version, MGC, which is basically the same market scaled down. I go into detail on sizing differences in this position sizing article so you don’t nuke yourself with oversized contracts.
Why Traders Use Gold Futures Instead of Spot
Most beginners start with XAUUSD on some random broker and think they’re trading “gold.” In reality, they’re trading a synthetic price feed with no transparent volume and whatever execution the broker decides to give them.
GC fixes that:
- Centralized order book: GC trades on CME with real, visible depth.
- Transparent volume: You can see how much size is actually trading each bar.
- Standard tick value: $10 per tick keeps risk and P&L math clean.
- Institutional participation: Hedgers, funds, and prop desks all live here.
If you care about trading where serious money moves instead of a broker’s internal casino, GC is the primary gold product to focus on. For volatility context, it’s the same idea you see in ES ATR behavior and volatility zones, just applied to gold.
How GC Price Is Quoted and How That Hits Your P&L
GC is quoted in dollars per ounce. Each contract controls 100 ounces. So a price of 2385.40 means:
- Notional value ≈ 2385.40 × 100 = $238,540
- One tick = 0.10 move in price
- Every tick = $10 up or down per contract
If you’re long one GC and price moves from 2385.40 to 2387.00, that’s a 1.60 move, or 16 ticks:
- 16 ticks × $10 = $160
It adds up fast. That’s why risk sizing matters and why most new traders are better off starting with smaller contracts or at least using tighter size rules.
Who Actually Uses Gold Futures
GC isn’t just a playground for retail degens. There are three main groups using it every day:
Hedgers
- Gold miners, refiners, and large holders.
- They sell futures to lock in a price for future production.
- The goal is stability, not trying to outsmart every tick.
Institutional Traders
- Macro funds, CTAs, and prop firms.
- They use GC to express views on inflation, real rates, and risk-on/risk-off sentiment.
- They care about correlation with equities, bonds, and the dollar.
Retail Speculators
- Day traders and swing traders looking for clean movement.
- They use GC for intraday trends, news spikes, and mean reversion setups.
- The smart ones know the product; the rest just click buttons.
If you’re reading this, you’re in that third bucket. Your edge comes from understanding how the other two behave, not pretending they don’t exist.
What Actually Moves Gold Futures
Gold doesn’t move because “it’s shiny.” GC is driven mainly by:
- Real interest rates: When real yields fall, gold gets a tailwind.
- U.S. Dollar Index (DXY): Stronger dollar usually pressures gold lower.
- Inflation data: CPI, PCE, and related prints.
- Central bank policy: Especially the Fed.
- Risk sentiment: Wars, banking stress, equity crashes.
You’ll see the same pattern again and again: major macro news → sharp GC spike or dump → volatility cluster → new range. That’s why understanding key reports is as important as the product itself; see how ES reacts in the ES economic reports article and apply the same logic to GC.
GC vs Holding Physical Gold
Physical gold is for long-term storage. GC is for trading price movement. The differences are simple:
- GC: Liquid, leveraged, no storage, marked to market daily.
- Physical: No daily mark-to-market, zero leverage, storage and security issues.
If your goal is to trade intraday or over a few days/weeks, GC makes more sense. If your goal is “bury it in the backyard and forget,” that’s a physical problem, not a futures one.
Final Takeaway: GC Is the Core Gold Trading Product
Gold futures (GC) are the main arena for trading gold with real size, real transparency, and clean pricing. One contract gives you exposure to 100 ounces, every tick is $10, and the product lives at the center of macro flows, dollar moves, and risk sentiment. Once you understand how the contract is built and who uses it, you’re ready to dig into margins, volatility, and strategy instead of guessing what you’re even trading.