Lot size, pips and margin in five minutes

Every trade in MT5 comes down to three numbers: how big the position is (lots), how far price moves (pips), and how much money is set aside to hold it (margin).

Lots

One standard lot in forex is 100,000 units of the base currency. A mini lot is 0.10 and a micro lot is 0.01. For gold, one lot is usually 100 ounces — check your broker’s contract specification in MT5.

Pips

A pip is a standard small price step: 0.0001 for most pairs like EURUSD, and 0.01 for yen pairs like USDJPY. On EURUSD, one pip on one standard lot is worth about $10; on 0.10 lots it is about $1.

On gold, a $1 move on one lot of 100 oz is worth about $100.

Margin

Margin is the deposit your broker holds while the trade is open. With 1:100 leverage, a 1-lot EURUSD trade worth about $108,000 needs roughly $1,080 of margin. Leverage changes how much margin is locked — not how much you gain or lose per pip.

Educational content, not investment advice. Trading carries a high level of risk.