Does trend-following still work well on Gold (XAUUSD) lately?

I’ve been focusing mostly on trend-following and breakout execution on XAUUSD recently, and I’ve noticed market behavior feels slightly different compared to previous years.

Sometimes trends extend much longer than expected, but false breakouts also seem more frequent during certain sessions.

For traders who mainly follow momentum — do you rely more on structure (high/low breaks) or volatility confirmation before entering?

Curious how others are adapting their approach in the current market conditions.

I’ve noticed the same on XAUUSD trends are extending longer, but false breakouts are more frequent, especially during low volatility or before news events. I’ve started combining structure breaks (high/low) with volatility indicators like ATR or Bollinger Bands for confirmation before entering. This helps avoid weak breakouts. I’ve also widened my stop-loss during low volatility to account for these false moves. It feels like the market is requiring more patience and adaptability. Curious how others are adjusting their strategies in these conditions!   

Interesting observation — I’ve noticed a similar shift on XAUUSD recently.

From my experience running a breakout-based approach, trends still work, but the market now seems more liquidity-driven rather than clean directional momentum. Many breakouts occur as liquidity grabs before the real move develops.

Personally, I rely primarily on structure (previous highs/lows and session ranges), but I’ve found that execution timing matters more than additional indicators. Instead of adding more confirmation tools, I focus on controlled risk and predefined RR so false breakouts remain manageable over a series of trades.

Gold still trends, but patience and risk consistency seem more important than trying to filter every false move. Over-filtering often leads to missing the strongest expansions.

Curious whether others are adapting position sizing or session selection rather than adding more indicators?

I feel the same. Lately I’ve been paying more attention to momentum indicators to confirm the move before entering.

Simple high/low breaks don’t always give the full picture with XAU these days. I prefer seeing some volatility or momentum confirmation before trusting the breakout.

Once you understand what’s actually changing in the market, you can usually keep the same strategy and just make small tweaks. Sometimes it’s as simple as waiting for volatility confirmation instead of jumping on the first breakout.