Supply and demand
US dollar
Gold production
Central bank reserves
Wealth protection
Geopolitical tension
Gold is one of the world’s oldest and most trusted forms of currency. For traders, gold's intrinsic value – or “safe haven” appeal – makes it a popular investment and a great way to diversify a portfolio.
There are two main ways to invest in gold. The first is buying physical gold, or shares in a mutual or exchange-traded fund that follows the real-time price of gold. The second is to take advantage of price fluctuations in the commodity trading market and trade derivatives linked to gold, such as futures, CFDs, options and more. Two of the most popular gold derivatives are gold CFDs and gold futures.
Gold is one of the most traded commodities in the world and there are many ways to trade it and invest in it to take advantage of the high liquidity of the gold market, including trading derivatives such as gold futures and gold CFDs.
Physical gold: This is when you pay someone for an amount of physical gold (i.e. a gold bar or jewellery) which you hold onto until you're ready to sell.
Gold futures: If you believe the price of gold is likely to go higher in the future, you can enter into a contract with a seller and agree upon a fair price to be paid today so that when the physical gold is delivered upon contract expiry, you can then sell the physical gold for more than what you paid.
Gold CFDs: Use a CFD to trade the real-time price movement of gold without having to buy any physical gold. Because CFDs are leveraged products, you only need to invest a small sum to gain full exposure to the underlying trade. Note that the profit or loss is calculated according to the full size of the trade position, so both profits and losses are magnified.
Follow our process to start gold trading today:
Futures CFDs derive their pricing from underlying futures contracts, while bullion CFDs derive their pricing from the underlying spot market. For a complete overview of all the gold instruments available to trade and what time zone they are active in, view our product schedule.
With Axi you can deposit as little as $50 and start trading gold immediately. However, a deposit of $500 allows for more trading options.
Trading gold as a CFD allows you to take advantage of leverage, meaning you can use a small amount of capital to open a larger trade position. Although leverage creates the potential for larger profits, it can also increase risk of losses greater than the margin in your account.
To help you develop robust risk management strategies, open a free Demo account and trade with virtual funds for 30 days. You can then upgrade to a free live trading account with no minimum deposit (excluding promotions), plus you will retain access to your demo account to continue practice trading.
Supply and demand
US dollar
Gold production
Central bank reserves
Wealth protection
Geopolitical tension
There is no “holy grail” strategy that guarantees a 100% win rate when it comes to trading. Every trader must develop a strategy that reflects their goals and trading ability. Below are some common trading styles that can help you kickstart your gold trading journey.
| Trading Style | Timeframe | Holding Period |
|---|---|---|
| Scalping | Super short term | Seconds to 1 hour max |
| Day trading | Short term | 1 Day |
| Swing Trading | Medium term | Days to week |
| Trend / Position trading | Long - super long term | Weeks to months |
Based on the table above, you should be able to estimate the amount of time you can commit to trading. The shorter the time frame used for analysis, the more time required to look at charts. Read our guide on gold trading strategies to find out more.
The ticker symbol for Gold is XAU. The letter “X” represents “Index” while ‘AU’ is gold’s chemical symbol and stands for ‘Aurum’, the Latin word for Gold.
Using a ticker makes it easy to search for products on the MT4 trading platform. With Axi you can trade gold as a CFD against the USD, AUD, CHF, EUR and GBP. A gold trade against the US dollar would be displayed as XAUUSD. When trading gold futures CFDs, the symbol will be shown as 'GOLD.fs'.
Utilise our world-class trading platforms and powerful tools to enhance your trading experience. With an Axi account, traders of all levels have access to top resources to help further improve their skills.
MetaTrader 4 is the smart choice for online traders everywhere who are looking for a trading edge. Simple for beginners and full of advanced functions for professionals, the MT4 platform helps you unlock unlimited trading possibilities.
Built to utilise Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, PsyQuation is a highly advanced trading analytics platform designed to reduce your trading mistakes and provide powerful performance analytics.
Autochartist continuously scans the market for customised trade opportunities, based on realtime pricing and your specific trade setups, then alerts you to potential trades.
Trading hours for Axi clients in the gold spot CFDs market kick off at 01:01 Monday (server time) and close at 23:58 Friday (server time). This includes gold, silver and platinum products. There is a market break that occurs between 23:59 and 01:01 (server time) each morning.
The exchange for Gold futures CFDs open at 18:01 Sunday and close at 16:59 Friday (New York timezone). There is a trading break from 16:59 - 18:01.
Traders can use historical prices to try and garner information about future price direction and key levels to consider. Looking at the big picture, gold has been on an uptrend since September 2018 before reaching an all-time high in August 2020 – close to $2100 per ounce.
As with any asset class, trading gold can be profitable with the right risk and trade management practices in place. To capitalise on gold price movement, traders should pay close attention to volatility and the main external factors driving gold price changes.
Learn more about trading this safe haven asset in our gold trading for beginners guide.
You can trade gold on MT4 with Axi using gold CFDs. With this form of trading, instead of owning the physical metal, you will simply be speculating on the fluctuations in its price.
Axi offers two MT4 account types to cater for different gold trading strategies; a standard account more suited to long-term strategies and a Pro account best suited to strategies that are sensitive to spreads.
Trading gold is popular because it is a precious metal that exists in finite quantities, gold has long been used as a form of currency and a way for people to store wealth (such as jewellery). It is also widely used and highly valued across various industries (such as electronics). The desirable nature of gold makes the gold market highly liquid and creates excellent opportunities for trading and investment.
