Indicator Tournament — XAUUSD
Pick your winners in each round — or use our recommended picks
Round 1
Semifinal
Final
Click any indicator card to advance it to the next round.
Which Indicator Is Best for
XAUUSD Trading?
Quick Answer
EMA wins for gold. The H4 200 EMA provides the institutional trend direction — the most important single technical reference on XAUUSD. Pair it with ATR(14) for stop sizing and you have a robust two-indicator setup that outperforms most complex multi-indicator systems.
How Each Indicator Behaves on XAUUSD
Why the Answer Changes by Timeframe
H4 Chart
EMA wins
EMA 200 defines macro trend direction — the single most important reference level for institutional gold positioning.
H1 Chart
RSI wins
RSI(14) identifies overbought/oversold conditions within sessions — excellent for timing entries against pullbacks in H4 trends.
Risk Management
ATR wins
ATR(14) on M15 or H1 sizes stop losses to actual gold volatility — prevents stops from being placed arbitrarily narrow or wide.
EMA
Trend
Gold respects EMA levels as dynamic support/resistance with high reliability — especially the H4 200 EMA which defines the institutional trend bias.
Setting: EMA 200 (H4 trend filter), EMA 20 (momentum)
Best TF: H4 for direction, M15 for entries
MACD
Momentum
MACD divergence is one of the most reliable reversal signals on gold's D1/H4 chart — more useful for identifying trend exhaustion than for entry timing.
Setting: Standard 12/26/9 — do not over-optimise
Best TF: H1–H4 for trend changes, not M1/M5
RSI
Momentum
RSI(14) on H1 is one of the most actionable entry-timing tools for XAUUSD — specifically RSI pullbacks to 40–50 in an uptrend or 50–60 in a downtrend.
Setting: RSI(14) — 70/30 levels, 80/20 on trending gold
Best TF: H1 for overbought/oversold, H4 for divergence
Stochastic
Momentum
Stochastic is most useful on gold when used as a FILTER, not a trigger — only take signals when stochastic aligns with the H4 trend direction.
Setting: Stochastic 5,3,3 or 14,3,3
Best TF: M15–H1
ATR
Volatility
ATR is the most practically important indicator for gold risk management. A 1×ATR stop on M15 typically captures the natural noise without being hit by normal volatility.
Setting: ATR(14) on M15 or H1
Best TF: M15 for stop sizing, H1 for session volatility
Bollinger
Volatility
Bollinger Band squeeze on gold (narrow bands indicating low volatility) is a valid breakout precursor signal — particularly useful ahead of London open.
Setting: Standard 20,2 — do not change
Best TF: H1 for band squeeze breakouts, H4 for range context
ADX
Trend Strength
ADX is an excellent filter for gold EAs — only take breakout trades when ADX(14) > 20, which filters out the false breakouts during low-momentum periods.
Setting: ADX(14) — above 25 = trending, above 40 = strong trend
Best TF: H4 to confirm trend strength before entry
Ichimoku
Multi-component
Ichimoku cloud on H4/D1 provides one of the most complete trend pictures for gold, but its complexity makes it less suitable for EA integration than EMA or ADX.
Setting: 9,26,52,26 standard — some gold traders use 7,22,44 for FX
Best TF: H4–D1 only
The bracket's consistent winner — EMA — is exactly what powers the trend filter in Goldie Razor V2.8.4. The EA uses EMA 200 on H4 as its automated direction filter: before executing any M15 breakout trade, the system checks whether XAUUSD is positioned on the correct side of the H4 200 EMA. This is a direct application of the tournament result to real EA logic.
Further Reading
Best Indicator for XAUUSD (Overview)
A broader comparison across four dimensions — pairs well with this tournament bracket format.
Technical Indicator Settings Guide
Filterable reference table with gold-specific settings for every major indicator — the detailed settings reference for bracket winners.
Indicators Inside a Profitable EA
Shows how to combine the tournament's winning indicators into an EA indicator stack with a live health score.
XAUUSD Moving Average Settings
EMA is the bracket's consistent winner — this covers the exact settings and logic in full depth.
Best Automated Gold Strategy
EMA and ATR are the two most-used indicators in the top-ranked automated strategies — connects tournament winner to strategy choice.
Which Chart Type Is Best?
Indicators live on charts — once you know your indicators, choosing the right chart display is the natural next question.
Frequently Asked Questions
Goldie Razor V2.8.4
M15 breakout + H4 EMA filter — built for XAUUSD on MT5