Trading in precious metals such as gold is simple on our trading platform. Contracts are expressed in ounces and can be traded against most currencies.
Online trading
Like trading currencies, online trading in gold with easyMarkets is “cash” settled i.e. there is no physical receipt of the underlying physical product.
Trading in the precious metals is done via ‘over the counter’ or OTC. OTC transactions are not centralised as in a stock exchange of a country. Trading is initiated directly between the buyer and the seller.
Day-trades in gold
Traders can open positions in gold using the day-trading option to trade the precious metals at spot prices. Day-trading means deals are usually completed before the close of trading that day. Gold traders usually hold their position for a short time only, but it is not necessary to complete the deal within a day. The deal can be extended depending on how the trader initiates the deal.
Once a gold day-trading deal is opened, it can only close in one of three ways:
- the trader closes the deal
- the deal reaches its stop loss limit
- the expiry date is reached
Until one of these three things happens, the deal continues. When your day-trading gold deal is open, it is renewed automatically every night at 22:00 GMT, and each time it is renewed, a small charge is made from your trading account.
The advantages of online trading in gold
Trading precious metals is now within the reach of private individuals via the trading platform, and like currencies, you are able to use leverage to enter into deals.
Gold trading
As the price of gold rise, the price of the USD falls. It is one of the reasons that trading gold has historically been a good way to “hedge” against inflation as gold tends to maintain its purchasing power over time. Gold prices recently have been quite volatile making it a popular day-trading product.
Specifications for trading Gold on our platform.
Gold trading begins on Sunday 23:00 GMT and ends 22:00 GMT Friday night with a daily break between 22:00 to 23:00. Gold is mostly traded worldwide between 01:00 – 17:30 GMT, Monday to Friday, and that spreads are usually higher during out-of-business hours.
Developments in gold trading
Gold has been used for thousands of years as a store of wealth. It is considered a safe haven asset meaning that when investors do not trust any other asset class they will trust gold. However this has the opposite effect on the metal during stock market bull rallies with investors selling gold and gold prices lower.
For more information on gold and other related trading products, go to our blog website, forex.info.
