Instruments · Metals
Metals trading: gold, silver and platinum CFDs
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium CFDs with tight, two-way pricing — a traditional store-of-value and inflation-hedge allocation, on one account.
Overview
Precious metals, priced for every market condition
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium have traded as stores of value for centuries — and today they trade as fast-moving, liquid CFD markets. Trade metals with AQ Markets on transparent pricing, deep liquidity and execution built for both quiet accumulation and fast-moving headline risk.
Guide
What is gold trading?
Gold trading means speculating on the price of gold, usually quoted as XAU/USD in US dollars per troy ounce. With a gold CFD you can profit from rises or falls without owning bullion. Silver, platinum and palladium work the same way. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains.
What moves gold and silver?
The US dollar, interest rates and central bank buying drive gold. It often attracts buyers during uncertainty, though not every time. Silver and platinum also respond to industrial demand, and palladium to car-industry demand. Watch the economic calendar, and compare with forex and energies.
When do metals trade?
The table on this page lists metals at 23/5, which is nearly continuous from Sunday evening to Friday night with a short daily break. Liquidity is usually deepest when London and New York are both open. Exact times are on the market hours page, and costs are in trading conditions.
Worked example
A gold trade, step by step
Hypothetical example: You buy 0.10 lot (10 oz) of XAU/USD at $2,000 and the price rises to $2,010. A $10 move on 10 oz is $100 of profit.
| Step | Hypothetical figure |
|---|---|
| Entry | $2,000 |
| Exit | $2,010 |
| Move | +$10 per oz (10 oz) |
| Result | +$100, before spread and swap |
If the price fell to $1,990, you would lose $100. Gold can move that far within one session, so the swing from profit to loss can come quickly. Spread and overnight swap come off the result. Use the calculators to check margin first.
Why metals
Why trade metals with AQ Markets
Safe-haven demand
Gold and silver have historically drawn demand in periods of uncertainty and currency weakness.
An inflation-aware allocation
Precious metals are widely used to diversify away from single-currency exposure and inflation risk.
Near round-the-clock access
Trade gold, silver, platinum and palladium CFDs across most of the trading week, not just exchange hours.
Tight, two-way pricing
Deep liquidity across our precious-metals book Spreads are variable and can widen in fast markets.
- ✓ No restrictions. No restrictions on scalping, hedging or EA use across supported platforms.
- ✓ One account. Forex, metals, indices, commodities, shares and crypto CFDs from a single account.
- ✓ Tight spreads. Spreads from 0.0 pips on majors, sourced from a deep liquidity pool.
Quick stats
Metals at a glance
Spec table
Metals instrument specifications
Sample metals and indicative trading conditions. The full instrument list is available inside the platform.
| Symbol | Description | Min Spread | Swap Long | Swap Short | Contract Size | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | Gold / US Dollar | 0.20 | -6.5 | 1.8 | 100 oz | 23/5 |
| XAGUSD | Silver / US Dollar | 0.03 | -2.1 | 0.6 | 5,000 oz | 23/5 |
| XPTUSD | Platinum / US Dollar | 0.35 | -3.0 | 0.9 | 50 oz | 23/5 |
| XPDUSD | Palladium / US Dollar | 0.60 | -4.2 | 1.1 | 100 oz | 23/5 |
Illustrative sample data, not live market prices.
Trading conditions
Execution built for metals
- ✓ Market execution — no dealing-desk intervention, no requotes.
- ✓ Average fill time 38ms (sample figure).
- ✓ Leverage on metals varies by instrument and jurisdiction — see Trading Conditions (eligibility applies).
- ✓ Margin call and stop-out levels published per account type.
Platforms
Trade metals on your platform of choice
Questions
Gold and silver questions answered
No. A gold CFD tracks the price and you never take delivery. Read how a CFD works before you trade.
Silver is a smaller market with more industrial demand, so its percentage swings have often been larger than gold. That cuts both ways when you use leverage.
The global gold price is set in dollars, so XAU/USD moves with the dollar as well as with gold demand. See index CFDs for another dollar-sensitive market.
Risk warning. Forex and CFD trading is leveraged and carries a high level of risk to your capital. Prices can move quickly against you, and losses can exceed your initial deposit. Please read our Risk Disclosure before trading.
Learn more
Related guides
Short explainers and tools that go with this page.