Start trading gold online with Australia's No.1 CFD provider.1
Open short-term positions with our exclusive undated gold market
Trade long-term gold price movements with futures contracts
Get full market exposure for a small deposit, called margin
Trade on some of the lowest gold spreads in the market – as little as 0.3 points
Trade gold with our leveraged products
Protect your capital with guaranteed stops, which only incur a fee if triggered
Gold CFD trading | Gold share trading | |
Markets to trade | Spot prices, futures, options contracts, shares and ETFs | Shares and ETFs |
Main benefits | Go long or short on gold prices. | Take ownership of shares to gain voting rights and dividends if paid |
Traded in | Contracts | Shares |
Commission | Share CFDs are subject to commission. All other markets are charged via the spread | Invest in international shares commission-free (0.7% FX fee applies), or Australian shares from just A$52 |
Platforms | Web, mobile app and advanced platforms | Web and mobile app |
Learn more | Learn more |
Gold trading is a method of speculating on the price of gold online via spot prices, futures, options, shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Trading via CFDs means you don’t have to take ownership or delivery of the commodity.
Gold trading is popular due to the metal’s reputation for being highly desired since ancient times. Coveted for both its cultural and financial value, there are a few benefits that make gold an attractive market, for example:
Develop a trading plan before you start, so that you’ll be less inclined to make emotional decisions when it comes to your gold positions. A good trading plan will outline details such as whether you want to trade or invest in gold, how much time and capital you want to spend on your gold trades, your preferred risk management tools, and much more.
Make sure you understand the gold price drivers, such as supply and demand, before you start trading.
Use charts to get an idea of how gold behaves over different timeframes. Look for patterns, wait for breakouts before trading, and trade with the trend. Compare up to four different timeframes at once with the charts in the IG trading platform, and get free trading signals to help you make your call.
Gain indirect exposure to gold by investing in individual mining stocks or a gold ETF – short for exchange traded fund. ETFs are baskets of assets that give you broad exposure to the gold market from just a single position. You can buy and sell ETFs by opening a share trading account. If you would rather speculate on the gold price instead of investing, you can use CFDs to go long or short on spot gold or the share price of companies that mine gold.
Founded in 1974 as the first company of its kind. We’re ASIC-regulated and trusted by 320,000+ clients with the security of their money.
IG Australia is part of IG Group Holdings PLC, which is a member of the FTSE 250.
Seize your opportunity in seconds and take full control over each of your trades with our easy-to-use platform and apps.
We have a dedicated team on hand to support you, and you can also benefit from knowledge-sharing with IG Community and IG Academy.
The spread is our charge for executing your trade. It’s the difference between the buy and sell price, which we wrap around the underlying gold price.
Minimum spread for futures | Minimum spread for undated markets | |
Spot gold (100OZ) | 0.6 | 0.3 |
Alternative gold markets | Minimum spread |
Daily gold options | 0.3 |
Centamin stock | 0.255 |
Petropavlovsk stock | 0.165 |
ZKB Gold ETF | 0.75 |
The spread will vary, depending on whether you trade futures or our undated contracts. Futures have a wider spread, but no overnight funding charges – so are more cost-effective for longer-term trades.
If you choose to trade gold stocks and ETFs via CFDs or invest with a share trading account, you’ll be charged a commission instead of a spread.
CFDs are leveraged products, which means you can gain full exposure for a small deposit – called margin. This isn’t an extra cost to you, but it can make a big difference to the affordability of your trade.
Remember, leverage will magnify both profits and losses.
Market | Retail margin | Pro margin |
Spot gold (100OZ) | 5% | 0.40% |
Petropavlovsk stock | 25% | 20% |
ZKB Gold ETF | 20% | 8% |
When trading gold options, the margin for 'buying' an option is the opening price (or premium) multiplied by the size of the trade. The margin for 'selling' an option is the same as the margin when trading the underlying futures market.
Seize opportunity on 17,000+ markets, including commodities, major indices and FX.
Seize opportunity on 17,000+ markets, including commodities, major indices and FX.
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Find out more about how you can open an account, research your first trade, and open a position.
1 Number 1 in Australia by primary relationships, CFDs & FX, Investment Trends November 2024 Leveraged Trading Report.
2 There is a standard rate of A$5 per trade or 0.05% for trades above A$10,000.
3 Best Finance App, Best Multi-Platform Provider and Best Platform for the Active Trader as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2024.
4 Our spread for a particular share or ETF is calculated as a percentage of the current price – they are subject to variation, especially in volatile market conditions. Please note: we have tried to ensure that the information here is as accurate as possible, but it is intended for guidance only and any errors will not be binding on us.