A candle, explained.

A candle compresses a trading period into four prices. Learn what it shows, and what it leaves out.

The open is the first observed price in the period. The close is the last. The high and low mark the range. The body joins open to close; the thin wick shows the extremes. A completed candle does not tell you the order in which every intermediate price traded.

Read direction and range separately.

When the close is above the open, the period has a positive open-to-close change. When it is below, the change is negative. The high-to-low range can be much larger than the body. Neither body colour nor a single candle establishes what the next period will do.

Keep units attached.

Gold is often quoted in US dollars per troy ounce. For a long position, the gross price result is (exit − entry) × ounces. Actual fills, spread, commission, financing and account-currency conversion affect your final result. A “lot” is a product-specific quantity: verify its ounce multiplier rather than assuming it.

For comparison with official contract units, see CME Gold contract specifications. The interactive example above describes ounces; it does not specify a broker’s lot size.