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MGC futures: micro gold futures explained in plain words

MGC is gold futures at one tenth the size: 10 ounces, not 100. Every $1 gold moves is $10 to you per contract, instead of $100.

Market guide · 5-minute read · Updated 2026-10-21

At a glance

Check cmegroup.com for current specs.

MGC and GC: the 10-to-1 link

• GC: 100 oz. $0.10 tick = $10.
• MGC: 10 oz. $0.10 tick = $1.
• 10 MGC = 1 GC in dollar terms.

Gold can easily move $20 or more in a day. That's $2,000 on one GC, and $200 on one MGC. For most small plans, the micro is where a chart-based stop and a sensible risk can both fit.

What moves it

The same forces that move GC:

• Real interest rates (bond yields after inflation). Higher real rates often weigh on gold.
• The dollar. A stronger dollar often lines up with softer gold.
• The Fed and US data. FOMC at 2:00 pm ET; CPI and the jobs report at 8:30 am ET.
• Central bank demand and big worries like wars or banking stress.

When it's busiest

Gold is busiest when London and New York overlap, roughly 8:00 am to noon ET. The London morning before that is active too. Asia hours are calmer. MGC trades less than GC, so the gap between buy and sell prices can be a bit wider overnight.

The ET hours are fixed all year. London's open shifts in ET for a few weeks when the US and UK change clocks on different dates.

Its personality

• Same moves, smaller dollars. It's gold. It still trends, spikes on data and respects round numbers.
• Room for a real stop. You can place the stop where the chart says, then size down, instead of squeezing the stop to fit the money.
• Weekend gaps. Friday 5 pm ET to Sunday 6 pm ET is a long time for news.
• Rolls like GC. Several contract months a year. Follow the active one and roll before expiry.

Reading it with our method

1. Daily chart first. Mark the last places price turned around. Higher highs and higher lows, or lower ones?
2. Wait for the body. Only a candle body closing past a level counts.
3. Stop past the turning point that proves your idea wrong.
4. Size from the stop. Example: stop $12 away = 120 ticks × $1 = $120 per MGC. Plan says $120? 1 contract. Plan says $60? Skip it, or find a setup with a closer stop. The futures tick value calculator checks it for you. A math example, not a promise.

Common mistakes

• Treating 10 MGC as "just micros". It's a full GC in risk.
• Thinking gold only goes up in scary times. It can fall on the same day as bad news if rates rise.
• Trading CPI's first candle. Let it close first.
• Mixing up MGC and XAU/USD sizes. A forex broker's gold lot is usually 100 oz. See XAU/USD.

Questions