At a glance
The short version
A gold candle shows where price went. The footprint shows where gold was actually traded: the volume at each price inside the candle, the heaviest level (its POC), and whether a burst of volume moved price or got absorbed. In CRTLAB it sits beside your gold replay and builds live, so you read it before the next candle tells you the answer.
Where the gold volume comes from
Gold's volume is the real traded volume of COMEX gold futures (GC), minute by minute — not tick counts. Each 1-minute bar's volume is spread across the prices that minute traded (5-minute bars feed the 4H footprint, 15-minute bars the daily), which is how the per-price rows are built.
It is a volume-at-price footprint: no bid/ask split, so no delta column. For where business was done — POC, high- and low-volume rows, absorption — it is the real thing.
What gold's volume does at the POC (measured)
We measured 1,109 gold trading days since 2022. Price came back to the previous day's POC on 64.6% of 917 days — and to a level the same distance on the other side on 64.8%. On gold, as on every market we tested (67.7% against 67.1% pooled), the POC is close, not magnetic.
What does hold: a POC price never returned to stays live. A "naked" gold POC was reached within 5 days 55.8% of the time and within 20 days 75.3%. The day closed inside its own value area on 66.7% of days.
| Gold | Days | Back to prior POC | Same-distance control | Naked POC within 20 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 1,109 | 64.6% | 64.8% | 75.3% |
| Every market | 13,754 | 67.7% | 67.1% | 75.2% |
When to watch the gold footprint
Gold's day does its business in the New York morning: between 08:00 and 12:00 New York it printed the day's high on 31.3% and the low on 31.4% of 2,429 days. The London kill zone (02:00–05:00) printed one of the two on 17.7%. That is where a 1H footprint candle with heavy volume and a small body at a prior level is worth a decision.
Replay a 15-minute chart with the 4H footprint beside it. When a candle marks absorption, log your call — reversal or pause — before you step forward. A hundred of those is a real sample.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free gold footprint chart?
CRTLAB is free to try. You get the gold footprint, with every tool the product has, for your first 10,000 candles of replay — roughly two hours of stepping through a chart, no card needed. After the sample, unlimited replay is $14.99 a month, cancel any time. The footprint, volume profile and every other tool are on from the first candle.
Where does CRTLAB's gold volume come from?
COMEX gold futures (GC): real exchange-traded volume, minute by minute.
Does the gold footprint show delta?
No. It is volume at price — per-price volume, each candle's POC and absorption — without a buyer/seller split.
Does price return to gold's previous day POC?
On 64.6% of 917 gold days, against 64.8% for a level the same distance on the other side. Close, not magnetic.