London GoldOne hand corresponds to 100 ounces. If the gold price is $4300 per ounce, the nominal contract value of one lot is $43000 x 100, which is $430000. This number is used to understand market exposure, but it does not mean that opening one lot requires a one-time payment of $430000.

How is the nominal value calculated

The formula is straightforward: gold price x 100 ounces x lot size.

At $4300:

0.01 lot has a nominal value of approximately $4300; 0.1 lot is about 43000 US dollars; One lot is about 430000 US dollars.

Why is there no need to pay the full amount when actually opening a warehouse

London gold is traded on margin.Wmax · 威马证券 currently occupies the corresponding advance payment according to the margin standard per lot.

This allows users to manage larger nominal contracts with less funds, but at the same time, it also means that small price changes may bring relatively significant account fluctuations.

What is the use of nominal value

It can help you understand how big the position is.

Many people subconsciously think that this is a $1000 trade when they see 'only using a $1000 margin'. In fact, the price exposure behind the first hand is much greater than the margin occupation.

What will happen if the price changes by 1%

$4300 increased by 1%, or approximately $43.

One lot corresponds to 100 ounces, with a theoretical floating amount of approximately $4300.

This also explains why in margin trading, market changes in percentages that appear small may still be sensitive to the account.

Don't just look at margin when looking at positions

A more complete habit is to simultaneously consider nominal value, margin, lot size, account net value, and stop loss distance.

Putting these items together brings us closer to the real risk.

$430000 is the 'contract value', not the full amount that the account needs to pay

When the gold price is $4300 per ounce, one lot of London gold corresponds to 100 ounces, and the nominal contract value is $4300 x 100, which is $430000. This number indicates how much market value changes your first-hand position follows, but it does not mean that the account must pay $430000 when opening the position.

Wmax · 威马证券's current 1-lot London gold margin is $1000. The margin system allows investors to establish larger nominal positions with less capital occupation, while also amplifying the impact of price changes on account funds.

Why should we pay attention to the nominal contract value

Many people only look at margin and easily underestimate their positions. One lot only occupies a margin of $1000, but corresponds to a nominal market value of around $430000. For every $1 change in gold price, the theoretical fluctuation of one lot is about $100.

If the market changes by $20, one lot corresponds to a price change of approximately $2000. This number is already higher than the current single hand margin. From this, it can be seen that margin is not the maximum loss, nor is it the total value of the position.

How to convert 0.1 lots to 0.01 lots

Assuming a price of $4300 per ounce, 0.1 lot corresponds to 10 ounces, with a nominal value of approximately $43000; 0.01 lots correspond to 1 ounce, with a nominal value of approximately $4300.

According to current standards, the margin is roughly 0.1 lots at $100 and 0.01 lots at $10. The combination of nominal value and margin can better reflect the characteristics of margin trading.

The nominal value will also change after the gold price changes

If gold rises from $4300 to $4400, the nominal value of one 100 ounce lot will increase from $430000 to $440000. The number of positions has not changed, but the corresponding market value follows the price changes.

In actual trading, we do not recommend using nominal value to directly determine how much gold one owns, as this is the contract price exposure. It is more suitable for helping understand why smaller margin can correspond to larger market change amounts.

You can do two calculations before placing an order

First, calculate the margin to confirm whether the account has the funds required to establish a position; second, calculate the notional value and the amount per $1 move to confirm whether you can withstand market changes. Both calculations are simple, yet they can help you avoid misjudgments caused by looking only at the "minimum threshold."

Notional value is best suited for stress testing

Once you know that 1 lot at $4,300 corresponds to a notional value of about $430,000, you can go on to assume what would happen if the gold price moved 1% or 2%. A 1% move is about a $43 price change; 1 lot corresponds to about $4,300 in floating profit or loss; 0.1 lot is about $430. Such a stress test reminds you of how large your position is far better than simply looking at the $1,000 margin. The market will not limit price movements just because margin is fixed, so before increasing your lot size each time, it is best to calculate the notional value and the amount per $1 move together.

Risk warning: The $4,300 in this article is an example price only. Margin and other trading parameters are subject to the latest rules in effect at the time of actual trading.

43万美元是“合约价值”，不是账户要付的全款

当黄金报价为4300美元/盎司时，1手伦敦金对应100盎司，名义合约价值为4300×100，也就是43万美元。这个数字说明你的一手仓位跟随多少市场价值变化，并不等于开仓时账户必须支付43万美元。

Wmax · 威马证券当前1手伦敦金保证金为1000美元。保证金制度让投资者使用较少的资金占用建立更大的名义仓位，同时也让价格变化对账户资金的影响被放大。

为什么要关注名义合约价值

很多人只看保证金，容易低估仓位。1手只占用1000美元保证金，却对应43万美元左右的名义市场价值，金价每变化1美元，1手理论浮动约100美元。

如果行情变化20美元，1手对应约2000美元的价格变化金额。这个数字已经高于当前单手保证金。由此可以看出，保证金不是最大亏损，也不是仓位总价值。

0.1手和0.01手怎么换算

同样按4300美元/盎司假设：0.1手对应10盎司，名义价值约4.3万美元；0.01手对应1盎司，名义价值约4300美元。

保证金按当前标准则大致为0.1手100美元、0.01手10美元。名义价值和保证金两个数字同时看，更能反映保证金交易的特点。

金价变化后名义价值也会变

如果黄金从4300涨到4400美元，1手100盎司的名义价值从43万美元升到44万美元。仓位数量没变，但对应市场价值跟着价格变化。

实际交易中，我们不建议用名义价值直接判断自己“拥有多少黄金”，因为这是合约价格敞口。它更适合帮助理解为什么较小保证金可以对应较大的市场变化金额。

下单前可以做两次计算

第一次算保证金，确认账户是否具备建立仓位的资金条件；第二次算名义价值和每1美元波动金额，确认自己能否承受行情变化。两次计算都很简单，却能避免只看“最低门槛”带来的误判。

名义价值最适合用来做压力测试

知道1手在4300美元时对应约43万美元名义价值后，可以继续假设金价波动1%、2%会发生什么。1%大约是43美元价格变化，1手对应约4300美元浮动；0.1手约430美元。这样的压力测试比单纯看1000美元保证金更能提醒自己仓位有多大。市场不会因为保证金固定就限制价格波动，所以每次扩大手数前，最好把名义价值和每1美元波动金额一起算一遍。

风险提示：文中4300美元仅为示例价格。保证金和其他交易参数以实际交易时的最新规则为准。