Gold is one of the world’s most popular asset types, favoured by investors of all shapes and sizes. Trading gold is a way for people to build and diversify their portfolios and protect against market volatility.

As an asset type, gold is synonymous with stability and wealth-building. In times of significant global economic uncertainties, investing in gold and gold trading are favoured choices by traders and investors, thanks to its consistent ability to hold its value.

As well as investing in the physical gold bullion assets, gold traders can also take advantage of shifts in the price of gold via day trading and CFDs.

Movements in gold trading prices can often be predicted with some accuracy, making gold – and other precious metals – a preferred choice for day trading.

A wealth of historical gold price data and market shifts mean analysing future behaviours can be more reliable than other more volatile asset types. Many choose gold trades for long term investments, whereas forex traders will look to capitalise on short term price shifts to achieve quick wins.

While gold is a popular choice, gold trading isn’t the only precious metal trading option. Other metals can yield reliable, predictable returns alongside the right trading strategies. Metals like platinum, palladium, silver and copper are popular options that can hedge against inflation and help diversify your portfolio. Each of these commodities offers distinct risk factors and opportunities for growth.

How to trade Gold

Keen to get started? Let’s look a little closer at how to trade gold and other precious metals.

When you trade gold, you are taking a position on the gold trading price, speculating on the direction the price will move in to turn a profit.

There’s no one hard or fast strategy for success when trading gold. As long as you accurately predict the direction of travel for the gold trading price, you will turn a profit. The greater the move in your predicted direction, the greater your profit. Likewise, the gold trading price moves against your position, you’ll incur losses. The more significant the shift, the bigger your loss.

Before you consider how to trade gold and silver, consider the forces that can cause shifts in the price of precious metal commodities.

Here are a few of the market forces which impact the value of gold and silver.

World politics and the economy

Global economic uncertainty and instability have a significant impact on the investments market at large. While gold is traditionally a stable asset, investors often choose to keep hold of physical gold bullion assets when the market is volatile. This can help ride out any difficulties, pushing the gold trading price up.

Industry

The tech sector, jewellery industry and investments market feed a steady, predictable demand for precious metals. Shifts in demand may arise in times of recession or other economic uncertainty. Still, the ongoing demand from investment markets means extreme gold trading price dips are highly unlikely and unusual.

US Dollar value

Because gold and other precious metals are priced against US currency, shifts in the dollar’s value can impact the gold price trading value.

Supply and demand

As we’ve explored above, the price of precious metals like gold and silver is impacted by asset availability and demand. While gold is a finite resource, we still mine and recycle precious metals, so availability is stable.

Gold Trading with ATC Brokers

Ready to trade gold and silver online? Our fully digital platform has everything you need to start today.

• An intuitive, user-friendly digital interface at a desktop or on the go
• In-depth strategic support and market analysis to drive decisions
• The latest news and views impacting gold trading prices
• An economic calendar designed to help you strategise and bid effectively

Get started trading precious metals with us by setting up a personal CFD account today.

You can set up a demo account if you’re not quite ready to begin live gold trading on the CFD platform.