- Specification is per symbol and per broker server, not a global MetaTrader setting
- Contract size is why 0.01 lot of gold is not the same cash risk as 0.01 lot of EUR/USD
- Stops level is a no-go band for SL, TP and pendings; too close returns Invalid Stops
- Tick value plus tick size is how you convert a price move into account currency
- Swap type and weekday multipliers decide the overnight bill, including triple-swap days
- Never copy another trader’s lot size until you have matched contract size on your login
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Risk warning: Forex and CFDs are leveraged. A gold CFD with a large contract size can move your equity several times faster than a 0.01 lot EUR/USD trade. This article is education, not a recommendation to trade any symbol.
Quick Answer#
The contract specification is how your broker tells MetaTrader the legal-size economics of one instrument: how big one lot is, how far a stop may sit, how overnight financing is calculated, and which order types are allowed.
If you only remember one workflow: Market Watch → right-click symbol → Specification, then write down contract size, tick value, stops level, volume step, swap. Do this again when you change symbol, account type or broker entity.
Related reading: MT4 vs MT5, what is a lot, what is spread, hedging vs netting.
Why This Window Beats Marketing Pages#
Short Answer
Homepage “from 0.0 spread” copy does not size your gold stop. The specification does.
Detailed Explanation
Retail platforms share a common UI. The numbers inside Specification are not shared. Two logins both labelled “EURUSD” can differ in suffix, digits, stops level, swap and even contract size. Gold is where the mismatch hurts: traders reuse a forex lot size and discover the cash swing is an order of magnitude larger.
MetaTrader 5 Help describes Specification as the symbol’s trading conditions set by the brokerage company. That is the right mental model: it is a broker document rendered as a panel, not a tutorial.
Example
You risk 1% of a $2,000 account ($20) with a 20-pip EUR/USD stop on 0.10 lot. You then open 0.10 lot gold with a $2 stop because “two dollars looks small.” If the gold CFD’s contract size is 100 ounces per 1.00 lot, 0.10 lot is 10 ounces. A $2 adverse move is about $20 — before spread. A $20 adverse move is about $200. The specification would have shown the contract size before the click.
Common Mistake
Copying a YouTube lot size for XAUUSD without opening Specification on your server.
Professional Tip
Keep a one-line notebook per symbol: XAUUSD | size 100 | tick 0.01 | stops 50 pts | step 0.01. Update it after any account upgrade.
How to Open Specification (MT5 and MT4)#
- Open Market Watch (View → Market Watch, or Ctrl+M).
- If the symbol is missing, right-click → Symbols, show the instrument (watch suffixes).
- Right-click the symbol → Specification.
- Scroll. Brokers hide swap multipliers and filling policy below the first screen.
On MT4 the panel is shorter. The same five numbers still exist: contract size, tick size, stops, swap, lot step.
Demo first if you are testing a new suffix. Live specs can differ from a marketing demo.
Field Map: What Each Line Is For#
Values below are illustrative patterns, not a quote from any named broker. Read your panel.
| Field (typical English label) | What it answers | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Quoted bid–ask gap, or “floating” | Floating is not free. Live spread still hits the first tick. See bid vs ask. |
| Digits | Decimal places in the price | 5-digit EUR/USD: 1 point = 0.00001. Gold often 2 decimals: 1 point = 0.01. |
| Stops level | Minimum distance, in points, from current price for SL, TP and pendings | Inside the band the server returns Invalid Stops. Official MT5 Help: you cannot place those orders inside the channel. |
| Contract size | Units in 1.00 lot | The main reason gold and EUR/USD lot labels are not comparable. |
| Tick size | Smallest price increment | Combined with tick value for money-per-move. |
| Tick value | Account-currency value of one tick at 1.00 lot | Fastest path from “price moved” to “equity moved.” |
| Volume step / min / max | Allowed lot increments | You cannot place 0.03 if step is 0.10. |
| Swap type / long / short | Overnight formula | Points vs cash vs percent — not interchangeable. See what is swap. |
| Swap rates (weekday multipliers) | Extra multiple on some weekdays | MetaQuotes’ own Help example uses a Wednesday factor of 3 for a triple swap. Confirm your book. |
| Execution / Filling | Instant, market, exchange; FOK, IOC, Return | EAs fail here more often than on the chart. |
| Trade mode | Full, close-only, disabled | News or holidays can flip a symbol to close-only. |
Stops Level vs Freeze Level#
Stops level is documented in MT5 Help under Specification: a price channel around the current quote where SL, TP and pendings are refused.
Freeze level is a separate market-info constant (SYMBOL_TRADE_FREEZE_LEVEL in MQL5). When a broker sets it above zero, orders that are already close to execution can be frozen against modify/delete. That is not the same as Invalid Stops on a new placement.
If freeze level is 0, you still must respect stops level. If both are large on a gold symbol, your “tight scalp stop” is a fantasy on that account.
For fills that happen but at a worse price, see why a stop-loss fills worse than the price you set.
Worked Comparison: EUR/USD vs a Gold CFD#
Short Answer
Same “0.01 lot” label, different cash engine. Compare contract size and tick value, not the lot digits.
Detailed Explanation
A standard FX major is usually 100,000 units of base currency per 1.00 lot. A common gold CFD is 100 troy ounces per 1.00 lot; some entities use 1 ounce. Those two gold designs differ by 100×. The UI still says “lots.”
Stops level on many EUR/USD books is 0 points. On some metal CFDs it is tens or hundreds of points. A 30-point gold stop that works on a 0-stops-level symbol is rejected on a 350-point symbol.
Example (labelled illustrative)#
Assume, only as arithmetic, 1.00 lot gold = 100 oz, tick size $0.01, tick value $1.00 per 0.01 at 1.00 lot (so $1 per $0.01 per ounce × 100 oz). Then:
- 0.01 lot ≈ 1 ounce.
- A $1 adverse move ≈ $1 on 0.01 lot.
- A $10 adverse move ≈ $10 on 0.01 lot.
If instead contract size is 100 oz at 0.01 lot (1 ounce still) the $1 move is still about $1 — the danger is people trading 0.10 thinking it is “like 0.10 EURUSD.” 0.10 lot at 100 oz/lot is 10 ounces: a $10 move ≈ $100.
EUR/USD 0.01 lot is 1,000 units. A 10-pip (100-point on 5-digit) move is about $1 per 0.01 lot if USD is the quote currency. The two 0.01 lots are not cousins.
Common Mistake
Using a pip-value habit from EUR/USD on gold without converting through tick value.
Professional Tip
Size gold from dollar risk and tick value, then convert to lots. Our position size guide and gold lot-size article walk the same logic.
Swap Multipliers and Triple Days#
MetaTrader 5 Help states that swap rates can multiply the base long/short swap by a weekday ratio. Their documented example: base long swap USD 1.5, ratio 1 on most days, 3 on Wednesday → USD 4.5 when rolling Wednesday to Thursday.
That is the platform’s own description of a triple-swap day. Your broker may use Thursday for some CFDs. Specification beats forum folklore.
If you never hold past cutoff, swap is usually irrelevant. If you swing gold over Wednesday, read the multiplier before the rollover. Full mechanics: overnight financing.
Filling Policy and Volume Limits#
Fill or Kill (FOK) wants the full volume immediately or nothing. Immediate or Cancel (IOC) can fill part and cancel the rest. Return is typical of some exchange-style books.
If an EA “does nothing” at the open, check Filling on the spec and the EA’s fill setting. They must match what the symbol allows.
Volume limit (when present) caps combined position plus pendings in one direction. You can be blocked from adding a buy-limit even if margin looks fine.
Five-Minute Pre-Trade Checklist#
- Specification opened on the exact symbol name you will click (suffix included).
- Contract size written down.
- Tick size and tick value written down.
- Stops level converted into a price distance you can see on the chart.
- Volume step matches the lot you typed.
- Swap type and Wednesday/Thursday multiplier checked if you might hold overnight.
- Trade mode is not close-only.
- You still have a stop-loss plan that sits outside the stops-level band.
How This Ties to Broker Choice#
Specification is downstream of legal entity. The same brand can show different gold contract sizes on a CySEC login versus an international entity. Verify the entity, then the spec.
Use the licensed brokers directory, compare two to four brokers, and how we review brokers before you fund. Country routing: filter “your country” on the directory rather than assuming one website serves everyone.
Key Takeaways#
- Specification is the broker’s contract for that symbol on that server.
- Contract size is the silent multiplier behind gold disasters.
- Stops level explains many “Invalid Stops” errors.
- Tick value is how you translate a move into money.
- Swap weekday ratios explain triple charges.
- Re-read the panel after any account or symbol change.
Glossary#
- Point: Smallest price increment implied by Digits; not always equal to a “pip.”
- Pip: Customary FX increment (often 0.0001 on EUR/USD); confirm against digits.
- Lot: Volume unit. Meaningless without contract size.
- Stops level: Minimum distance for new SL/TP/pendings.
- Freeze level: Distance where existing near-market orders may be locked against edits.
- Tick value: Money change for one tick at 1.00 lot, in profit/margin currency as configured.
Checklist#
- Open Specification, do not screenshot a marketing PDF.
- Convert stops level from points to price.
- Size from cash risk, not from habit lots.
- Confirm swap if holding through rollover.
- Demo a rejected stop on purpose so you recognise Invalid Stops.
Future related articles#
- How to convert MT5 points to pips on 3-digit and 5-digit symbols
- How to log tick value drift when the account currency is not USD
- How filling policy interacts with news-minute EAs
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