Gold overnight gap into Asia: trade the plan or wait for London?
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2026 6:21 pm
Sometimes gold moves significantly in the late US session or early Asia, creating a gap from the London close. By the time London opens, price is far from where it was the previous afternoon.
Options:
Trade it in Asia. If you're awake and the move has a clear driver, Asia can offer good entries. But liquidity is thinner and reversals sharper.
Wait for London. Let Europe show whether the overnight move is accepted or rejected. More information, better liquidity, but you might miss part of the move.
Fade the gap at London. If the overnight move had no clear driver, London sometimes pushes price back toward the previous close.
Questions that help decide:
- Was there a news driver? Fed comments, geopolitical events, US data revisions?
- Did the move happen on high activity, or did price drift there in thin trade?
- Is the new price near a significant level from the higher timeframes?
- Did yields and the dollar move in the same way?
A driverless gap in thin trade is a candidate for a fade. A news-driven gap with confirmation from yields is more likely to hold.
What's your default when gold has moved overnight?
Options:
Trade it in Asia. If you're awake and the move has a clear driver, Asia can offer good entries. But liquidity is thinner and reversals sharper.
Wait for London. Let Europe show whether the overnight move is accepted or rejected. More information, better liquidity, but you might miss part of the move.
Fade the gap at London. If the overnight move had no clear driver, London sometimes pushes price back toward the previous close.
Questions that help decide:
- Was there a news driver? Fed comments, geopolitical events, US data revisions?
- Did the move happen on high activity, or did price drift there in thin trade?
- Is the new price near a significant level from the higher timeframes?
- Did yields and the dollar move in the same way?
A driverless gap in thin trade is a candidate for a fade. A news-driven gap with confirmation from yields is more likely to hold.
What's your default when gold has moved overnight?