Precious metals

Gold trading: bullion, futures and what the contract actually is

Gold is a monetary metal and a material. Real yields, the dollar, jewellery and central-bank buying are discussed because they change who wants to hold it. A bar, a GC futures contract and a miner’s share are three positions.

Written by WiT Markets EditorialReview Editorially reviewedLast reviewed

Gold bar with a weight of 400 troy-ounces (12.441 kg). Gold bars of this size are usually used only for banking purposes
Szaaman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.

Market overview

The OTC bullion market quotes gold for delivery in a financial centre, often in dollars per troy ounce. That price is not a futures month and not the price of a one-ounce coin after a dealer’s spread.

CME Group’s gold futures page, read on 19 October 2026, describes the benchmark contract under the symbol GC and says it is physically settled. The same page did not include the contract size or the tick in the text retrieved here, so those figures are not copied.

What tends to move it

Real interest rates

Gold pays no coupon. A higher real yield raises the opportunity cost of holding it.

The dollar

Many quotes are in dollars. The metal and the currency can move apart.

Investment and jewellery

Bars and funds are not the same flow as jewellery fabrication.

Mine supply

Recycling and mine output change slowly relative to a futures session.

Ways to take the exposure

These are different legal positions. A platform may offer one and not the others. Nothing here is available in every country.

Allocated bullion

Identified metal in custody. You pay storage. You do not have futures margin.

COMEX gold futures

An exchange contract. Margin is a deposit. Expiry and delivery rules apply if the position is left open.

Funds and ETCs

Some hold metal. Some hold futures. The holding-period return need not match a spot quote.

Mining shares

Operating costs and financing sit between the share and the metal.

Contract specifications

CME Group, GC gold futures

Symbol GC and a physical-settlement description were on the specification page retrieved on 19 October 2026. Size, tick and margin were not in that text.

Read the exchange page

Illustrative contract value

Enter the exchange’s price unit, contract size and tick value yourself. Nothing here is a live quote or a margin rate. The arithmetic is valid only when the price and the contract size use the units in that specification. If the contract quotes in cents or in an index, enter the price in that quote unit.

Illustrative notional
Enter the fields
One tick, selected contracts
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Selected tick movement
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What the costs usually are

Bullion costs are the spread plus custody. Futures costs are commission, exchange fees and, if you roll, the gap between months. A fund adds an ongoing charge. A CFD, where offered, adds a spread and often financing. Do not add a futures commission to a CFD spread and call it one tariff.

What a headline commission leaves out of the bill separates the commission from the spread, financing and other charges.

Risks that belong to this market

Leverage

A futures or CFD position can be closed out. The metal in a vault cannot.

Roll

A fund that sells the near month and buys a later one can lag a rising spot quote when the curve is upward sloping.

Custody

An unallocated account is a claim. Ask whether a bar is identified.

Providers in the commodities directory

The rows come from the existing commodities research note. No second provider list was created. No commercial relationship is recorded on these rows, so the button goes to the firm’s own site. This is not a ranking.

No provider is marked as confirmed for this commodity. A named row means the existing research note uses the commodity’s name. An oil row means the note says oil or crude without saying WTI or Brent. A group row means the firm was filed under the category only. Regions are mentions in that note, not a check that you can open an account.

C

City Index

Named in the research note

Gold, oil and other commodity CFDs/spread bets by region

Pricing line. Spread-based; region/product-specific

Platforms. City Index Web Trader; mobile; MT4; TradingView in selected regions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
eToro logo

eToro

Named in the research note

Gold, oil, copper and other commodities primarily via CFDs; commodity ETFs can offer non-CFD exposure

Pricing line. Spread/overnight/product-specific fees

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Plus500 logo

Plus500

Named in the research note

Gold, silver, oil, Brent, heating oil, copper, aluminium and other commodity CFDs

Pricing line. Spread/financing-based CFD pricing; regional products differ

Platforms. Proprietary web/mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Trading 212 logo

Trading 212

Named in the research note

Crude oil, Brent, gold, silver and other commodity/futures CFD instruments plus listed ETFs/ETCs

Pricing line. Commission-free Invest on supported securities; CFD spreads/overnight financing; FX charges can apply

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
AvaTrade logo

AvaTrade

Group listing only

Metals, energy and agricultural commodity CFDs depending entity

Pricing line. Spread-based; product/entity-specific fees

Platforms. WebTrader; AvaTrade app; MT4; MT5; AvaOptions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Capital.com logo

Capital.com

Group listing only

65+ commodity CFDs provider-stated across metals, energy and soft/agricultural markets

Pricing line. Spread-based, no commission on cited CFD proposition; other costs apply

Platforms. Capital.com web/mobile; TradingView; MT4/MT5 on current international page

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
CMC Markets logo

CMC Markets

Group listing only

Commodity CFDs across metals, energy and soft commodities; investing offering differs by region

Pricing line. Spread-based CFD pricing; investing fees region-specific

Platforms. Next Generation; MT4/MT5 in selected regions; mobile/web

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
DEGIRO logo

DEGIRO

Group listing only

Commodity ETFs/ETCs such as oil and precious-metals products; exchange products vary by market

Pricing line. Low-cost transaction model; product/exchange-specific fees

Platforms. Web; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
FOREX.com logo

FOREX.com

Group listing only

A published range includes crude oil, natural gas, corn and metals.

Pricing line. Spread-based commodity CFDs; financing can apply

Platforms. FOREX.com proprietary; TradingView; MT5/MT4 depending region

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
FP Markets logo

FP Markets

Group listing only

Oil, gas, corn, sugar and precious metals among broader commodity CFDs

Pricing line. Spread/commission account structures

Platforms. MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView; IRESS in selected regions

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
IG logo

IG

Group listing only

Commodities including metals, energy and other markets mainly through CFDs/spread betting, plus region-specific investing products

Pricing line. Spread/commission by product/entity

Platforms. IG web/mobile; MT4 in selected regions; ProRealTime integrations

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Interactive Brokers logo

Interactive Brokers

Group listing only

Energy, metals, agriculture and related commodity products via futures, ETFs/ETPs and metals

Pricing line. Product/exchange commissions + market-data fees; fund/ETF pricing varies

Platforms. Trader Workstation; IBKR Desktop; Client Portal; GlobalTrader; mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
OANDA logo

OANDA

Group listing only

Hard and soft commodity CFDs including oil, copper, natural gas, corn plus precious metals

Pricing line. Spread-based commodity/metal CFDs

Platforms. OANDA web/mobile; MT4; MT5; TradingView

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Pepperstone logo

Pepperstone

Group listing only

40 spot commodity markets across metals, energies and softs on cited UK page

Pricing line. Spread-based; Razor pricing applies to some products

Platforms. Pepperstone platform; MT4; MT5; cTrader; TradingView

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Saxo logo

Saxo

Group listing only

Commodity CFDs, futures, options, spot metals and ETCs across energy, metals and agriculture

Pricing line. Tiered commissions/spreads by product and account tier

Platforms. SaxoInvestor; SaxoTrader; web/mobile

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website
Swissquote logo

Swissquote

Group listing only

Metals, commodity-linked funds/ETPs and derivatives depending account/entity

Pricing line. Product/account-specific fees

Platforms. Swissquote web/mobile; MT4/MT5/CFXD in relevant accounts

Fees that are not in the note are not shown as zero. Eligibility where you live is not confirmed.

Visit official website

Compare selected providers

Select two or three providers. The limit is three.

Calculators

Each tool starts from numbers you type. This page does not send a contract size or a live price into them.

Position size

You type the contract multiplier. This page does not insert one.

Open

Futures margin

Tick value and margin come from the specification you enter.

Open

Risk and reward

A planned payoff. It does not grade the trade.

Open

Profit and loss

A result from prices you type.

Open

Stop and target

Distances you choose, not a market order.

Open

Trading journal

A record of trades you enter.

Open

Trading performance

Figures from the journal, not from a feed.

Open

What a commission leaves out

How spread, fees and financing sit beside a headline commission.

Open

Spot, futures and the miner

XAU quotes in the interbank market are a dollar price for bullion. GC futures are a dated COMEX contract. A gold miner’s share adds the cost of getting the metal out of the ground. Using one chart for all three hides the thing that would have to explain the return.

Provider rows on this page are taken from the existing commodities directory. A firm is listed as named only when that directory text says gold. Group membership alone is not treated as proof.

Questions

Does WiT Markets show a gold price?

No. There is no live gold feed on this page.

Is every commodities broker a gold broker?

No. Only records whose research note names gold are marked that way. The others are category matches and are labelled as such.

Sources and review

Written by: WiT Markets Editorial. Writes and structures WiT Markets pages. Separates a sourced fact from a cell that is Not confirmed.

Review: Editorially reviewed. This is not a qualified specialist review and it is not a legal sign-off.

Last reviewed: . Next review due . The date is an editorial pass. It is not a live check of every third-party fee.

Other sources

Methodology. Editorial policy. Corrections. Report an error.

Gold trading: futures, bullion and brokers | WiT Markets