Gold Dust
Gold Dust is a trend-following Expert Advisor designed for XAUUSD (Gold) trading that uses a combination of moving average crossovers and momentum confirmation to identify and ride trends. The EA enters positions when fast and slow moving averages align with momentum indicator signals, and manages exits through a combination of trailing stops and fixed take-profit levels. It is optimized for gold's volatile nature with built-in spread filtering and time session controls.
Open the interactive view (equity curve, symbol switch)Key facts
Backtest results (H1, about 1 year)
| Symbol | P&L | Annual | Max DD | Trades | Win rate | Sharpe | Recovery | Losing streak | Per trade | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD | -4.74% | -4.13% | 6.73% | 33 | 25.00% | -1.00 | -0.70 | 6 | −$15.04 | Reliable |
| GBPUSD | -6.30% | -5.49% | 10.04% | 51 | 32.00% | -0.91 | -0.63 | 12 | −$13.18 | Reliable |
| USDJPY | +1.06% | +0.92% | 7.51% | 48 | 35.40% | 0.24 | 0.14 | 10 | +$2.20 | Reliable |
| XAUUSD | +7.42% | +6.09% | 50.01% | 77 | 59.70% | 0.43 | 0.15 | 2 | +$9.63 | Reliable |
Profitable on 2 of 4 markets with reliable results.
Converted from MQL5 to Python and run with the same rules for every EA. Positions use MT5 lot sizes (100,000 units per FX lot, 100 oz per gold lot) with 1:100 leverage, one order at a time, and a stop-out below 10% of the starting balance. Sharpe is computed from the equity curve. Results marked as unreliable are shown for completeness only.
Against the other Trend Following EAs with a reliable result on the same market: EURUSD: better than 12% of 95 · GBPUSD: better than 11% of 95 · USDJPY: better than 64% of 95 · XAUUSD: better than 59% of 96
Month by month
| Market | Months with a gain | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD | 38% | +1.11% 2026-07 | -1.81% 2026-06 |
| GBPUSD | 38% | +1.78% 2026-07 | -2.93% 2025-12 |
| USDJPY | 46% | +3.02% 2026-09 | -2.59% 2026-03 |
| XAUUSD | 54% | +47.93% 2026-04 | -30.54% 2026-02 |
From the backtest equity curve, sampled about every two days; only reliable results.
Blow-up risk: No blow-up pattern found
None of the usual blow-up patterns were found in the code, and the account was not stopped out in our backtests. That is not a guarantee: any EA can lose money.
High: stopped out in our backtest, or martingale/grid sizing without a stop loss. Elevated: martingale or grid sizing with a stop loss, or several positions at once without a stop loss. What the label means and what we found →
Strategy analysis
Gold Dust's core strategy is trend following, utilizing the crossover of fast and slow moving averages as the primary entry signal—going long when the fast MA crosses above the slow MA and short on the reverse crossover. Entry conditions further require momentum indicator confirmation (such as RSI or MACD alignment) to avoid frequent entries during choppy, range-bound markets. Exit conditions include fixed take-profit targets and a trailing stop that follows price movement to lock in profits as the trade moves favorably. Position sizing uses either fixed lot sizes or a percentage-based calculation tied to account balance, allowing users to customize their risk exposure. Money management features include maximum position limits and per-trade maximum loss controls, while avoiding aggressive strategies like martingale or grid. The strategy also incorporates trading session filtering to avoid low-liquidity periods and built-in spread checks to prevent entries during excessively wide spread conditions.
Strengths
- Clear trend-following logic well-suited for gold's strong trending characteristics
- Multi-confirmation mechanism (MA + momentum) reduces false signals and prevents entries during choppy markets
- Built-in spread filter and session controls effectively reduce risk during low-liquidity periods
- Trailing stop effectively locks in profits, adapting to gold's large volatility swings
- Highly configurable parameters allow users to optimize settings for different market conditions
Weaknesses
- Trend-following strategy may suffer frequent stop-outs during ranging markets, leading to consecutive small losses
- Lacks adaptive mechanisms—fixed parameters may perform very differently across market cycles
- Improperly set trailing stop parameters may cause premature exits from strong trend moves
- No clear pyramiding or position reduction logic, making position management relatively simplistic
- Over-reliance on gold as a single instrument; strategy generalization ability is unverified
Possible improvements
- Add market regime detection module to automatically pause trading or switch strategy parameters during ranging markets
- Introduce dynamic stop-loss and take-profit mechanisms that adapt based on ATR or volatility measures
- Add multi-timeframe confirmation logic to improve signal reliability and reduce false breakout entries
Risk assessment
Overall risk: Medium
- Trend-following strategy may generate consecutive stop-losses during sideways markets, causing significant drawdowns
- Trailing stop and fixed take-profit ratio settings must be carefully calibrated to maintain a healthy risk-reward ratio
- Lacks equity drawdown protection mechanism—extreme market conditions could result in losses beyond expectations
Evaluation scores
Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
FastMA_Period | 10 | Fast MA period |
SlowMA_Period | 50 | Slow MA period |
MA_Method | MODE_EMA | MA calculation method |
RSI_Period | 14 | RSI indicator period |
RSI_Overbought | 70 | RSI overbought threshold |
RSI_Oversold | 30 | RSI oversold threshold |
StopLoss | 500 | Stop loss in points |
TakeProfit | 1000 | Take profit in points |
TrailingStop | 300 | Trailing stop in points |
TrailingStep | 50 | Trailing stop step |
LotSize | 0.1 | Trading lot size |
MaxSpread | 30 | Maximum allowed spread |
MagicNumber | 23220 | EA magic number |
TradeSession_Start | 08:00 | Trading session start time |
TradeSession_End | 20:00 | Trading session end time |
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Backtests are historical simulations and do not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.