What's Sell Short & Buy Long?

In trading, there are two different types of trades, these two types are:

Long (buy) - long is if the trend is buy/bullish - going long means opening a buy trade.
Short (sell) - short is if the trend is sell/bearish - going short means opening a sell trade.

Buying/Long in XAUUSD vs Selling/Short in XAUUSD Trading

Both terms Buy/Long and Sell/short in Gold Trading, refer to things that traders do when they open a trade.

Buying Long - gold trading term is used when buying - when opening a buy trade.

Selling short - gold trading is used when selling - when opening a sell trade.

Long - Going Long is another term used to refer to buying in gold trading, If a trader opens long it means that the trader buys the gold XAUUSD that is heading in an upward trend direction. When the price is moving in an upward trend the trend is referred to as bullish trend.

Short - Going Short is a term used to refer to selling of a gold XAUUSD that is going in a downward trend direction. When the price is going downwards then it is known as to as a bearish trend.

What it means is that the term, "selling short" can be used to refer to selling in the markets. Selling short is used to trade a gold XAUUSD that is predicted to depreciate in value - meaning that the price will likely head downwards for the gold XAUUSD, when this gold is sold then it is the same as not holding value in this instrument but holding the same value in another form against which this gold is traded against - mostly US Dollars.

Buy/Long

If the price is going up traders will buy XAUUSD, this is referred to as going long - Therefore long is just another name for buy. When the market trend is going up it is known as to as a bullish trend & this is when a buy trade is placed by a trader. A bullish trend is identified by drawing an upward trendline on a chart. The example depicted & explained below highlights a long/buy trade signal.

XAUUSD Buy Long Trades vs Sell Short Trades on Trading Charts - Open Order on Trading Platform

Buy/Long - Buy/Long Bullish Trend - How to Open a Buy Order

Sell/Short

If the price is going down we sell XAUUSD, this is referred to as going short. When the market trend is going down it is known as to as a bearish trend. The example depicted & explained below highlights a downward trend, this is when a short sell trade is placed. The short/sell bearish trend is identified by drawing a downwards trendline on a chart. The example depicted & explained below highlights a short/sell xauusd trade signal.

XAUUSD Buy Long Trades vs Sell Short Trades on Charts - How Do I Set Trade New Orders in Charts?

Sell/Short - Sell Trade - How to Open a Sell Trade Order

XAUUSD Charts

A chart provides a visual representation of trading prices (drawn on the y-axis) against time (drawn on the x-axis) for gold. The movement of trading prices is plotted on these charts. The chart can be drawn as candlestick charts like the ones shown below or as line charts or as bar charts.

Candles Charts - Trading Candlesticks Charts Guide

Chart - Candles Charts - Candlesticks Chart

The three most commonly used types of charts used in gold trading are:

Candles Charts
Line Charts
Bar Charts

These 3 different types of Charts are covered in the topic Chart Types.

XAUUSD Platform

This is the software which's provided by a broker to help traders place their trades. Once you download and install this trading software platform on your computer you can then begin to trade gold in the Gold market/b>. All trading trades are executed through this trading platform. If you want to learn about trading platforms, MT4 Platform is a good gold trading platform to start with. Traders can also us mobile phone apps to place these trades.

To set these orders you as the trader will open the MT4 Platform, open a "chart", rightclick on "chart", select "New Order" button, then select the order - either sell or buy as pictured below. (Keyboard Shortcut Keys - Press F9 Key)

Placing Buy Long Trades and Sell Short Trades in MetaTrader 4