Choosing leverage for gold scalps without margin drama

[FXS London Scalper]

High leverage is often marketed as a benefit. For gold scalpers, it's mostly a risk amplifier. The right leverage is the one that lets you take your planned position size with plenty of free margin.

How to calculate what you need:
1. Decide risk per trade (e.g. 0.5% of account).
2. Calculate position size from stop distance.
3. Check margin required at various leverage levels.
4. Choose leverage where used margin stays below 20–30% of equity even with multiple positions.

Example: $10,000 account, 0.5% risk = $50. Gold stop of $2.00 → 0.25 lots (100 oz contract). Notional value at a gold price of $3,000 = $75,000. At 1:100 leverage, margin = $750 (7.5% of equity). At 1:30, margin = $2,500 (25%).

So 1:100 gives plenty of room, 1:30 is tight with multiple positions.

Don't use leverage to justify bigger positions. Use it to have margin buffer.

What leverage do you use for gold?