CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
*All information collected from LCG, see website for full terms and conditions. Your capital is at risk. Last updated on January 26, 2017.
Commodities Trading of Precious and Non-Precious Metals
Gold is one of most the popular and most regularly traded metal commodity today. Over $27.5 billion of gold was cleared at the London Bullion Market in November 2016 alone.
Metals are popular commodities for traders because of the liquidity provided by the amount of activity from the constant demand for metals around the world. Several different metals may be traded on the commodity markets and the more popular ones include gold, silver, platinum, and industrial metals such as zinc, copper, lead, tin, aluminium, steel, nickel, molybdenum and others.
There are two main categories of metals which are:
- Precious metals such as gold and silver are used in the production of jewellery and in the manufacturing of electronics.
- Non-precious metals are used for industrial building processes.
History of Precious and Non-Precious Metal Trading
Metals were first used by prehistoric settlers to make weapons and tools. Prior to making tools and weapons with metals, stone was the common raw material and this continued between 10,000 and 4500 BC. By 6000 BC gold was discovered and it because popular because of its scarcity as well as its great value. It was used to make items of jewellery. Copper was discovered by 4200 BC and was also used to make weapons. Silver came on the scene in 4000 BC and was used as currency in the Roman and Chinese Empires. Other metals such as lead, bronze, tin, iron, mercury, nickel, uranium, titanium, chromium, aluminium and several others were discovered later on.
Metal trading first became popular in places like London with the opening of the Royal Exchange in London in 1571. Futures contracts trading of metals began after the industrial revolution in the UK in the 19th century. Merchants could now protect themselves against changing metal prices and trading picked up. LMEX index contracts were established in the year 2000 and several different metals began to be traded on the London Metals Exchange (LME) and on several other exchanges across the world. LME is now the worlds largest metals futures exchange.
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At BrokerNotes.co, our data-driven online broker reviews are based on our extensive testing of brokers, platforms, products, technologies, and third-party trading tools. Our product testing extends to the quality and availability of educational content, market research resources, and the accessibility and capabilities of mobile platforms and trading apps. We also dive into each broker’s trading costs, such as VIP rebates, inactivity fees, custody fees, bid/ask spreads, and other fee-based data points.
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Note: The online brokers on our site provide the ability to trade forex in one or more ways, such as non-deliverable spot forex (i.e., rolling spot contracts), contracts for difference (CFD), or other derivatives such as futures. The availability of specific markets or features will depend on your country of residence and the broker's applicable brand or entity that services your account(s).
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