1. What is Trading Volume?
Trading Volume (Volume), also known as Lot, refers to the actual size of the asset being bought or sold in each trade.
In MetaTrader 5, Volume is a required field when placing an order, determining trade size and leverage impact.
2. Volume Units for Different Instruments
Instrument Type | 1 Standard Lot Represents |
Forex | 1 lot = 100,000 base currency units |
Gold (XAUUSD) | 1 lot = 100 ounces |
Crude Oil | 1 lot = 1,000 barrels (platform defined) |
Indices | 1 lot = contract size (platform defined) |
📌 Contract size can be checked in MT5: Right click instrument → Specification
3. Calculating Trade Value (Notional Value)
General Formula:
Trade Value = Lots × Contract Size × Current Price
4. Examples
Example 1: Trading 1 lot of Gold (XAUUSD)
Contract Size: 100 ounces/lot
Gold Price: $2,000/ounce
Lots: 1 lot
Trade Value = 1 × 100 × 2000 = $200,000
✅ Meaning: With only a portion of margin, you actually control $200,000 worth of assets.
Example 2: Trading 0.5 lot of EURUSD
1 lot = 100,000 EUR
Exchange Rate: 1.1000
Lots: 0.5
Trade Value = 0.5 × 100,000 × 1.1 = $55,000
5. Supporting Formulas: Margin & Pip Value
Margin Requirement:
Required Margin = Notional Value × Margin Ratio
Assume leverage 1:100, margin for 1 lot of gold:
$200,000 × 1% = $2,000
Pip Value Calculation:
Pip Value = (1 pip ÷ Exchange Rate) × Lots × Contract Size
For EURUSD: 1 lot = $10 per pip; 0.1 lot = $1 per pip.