The value of gold lies in its high malleability and flexibility; it is difficult to break or stretch. In addition, gold is a rather beautiful metal. It is used in a huge variety of jewelry of all sizes and shapes. This metal is also quite rare - the gold mined throughout the history of mankind can easily fit into two swimming pools. Over the past 55 years, the value of gold has increased 55 times. This is why gold is highly valued as an investment and is often purchased to diversify risks, including through the use of futures and derivatives.
The online gold price chart allows you to connect technical analysis indicators, customize the type of price line and timeframe. The graph shows the exchange price of gold against the US dollar. The chart works online except on days when the exchange has a day off or a holiday.
Exchanges where gold is traded
Transactions in futures, options and other types of gold contracts are traded all over the world.
How To Invest In Commodities? If we evaluate exchanges from the point of view of traded volume, then COMEX (part of the CME - Chicago Mercantile Exchange) is in the lead. The main one can be considered a contract with the ticker GC, its characteristics:
- Volume – 100 troy ounces.
- The minimum price change is $0.1 per ounce or $10 for the entire contract.
- This is a deliverable futures contract. The buyer will receive the goods if, before its expiration, he does not move into a further contract by selling the expiring futures. As part of the delivery, the buyer will receive either 1 bar weighing 100 troy ounces or 3 kilogram bars.
- Weight tolerance ±5%.
- The purity of the metal is not lower than 995. That is, 99.5% of the weight is pure gold, the remainder is possible impurities.
- Each ingot must have a marking indicating the fineness, ingot number, weight, and manufacturer's brand. In documents, weight is always indicated in ounces; if weight is indicated in kilograms, then the weight in grams is divided by 31.1035 and rounded to hundredths.
- The depositary in which the precious metal is stored issues a certificate for each bullion. It indicates the serial number and manufacturer.
The supply of gold to the depository is also regulated; there are only 3 scenarios:
- Direct delivery from the manufacturer.
- Ingots can be received for storage after certification and verification of their characteristics. The precious metal must be sent directly to the certification organization. A certificate containing the test results is required.
- From another storage facility, if the bars were delivered to it taking into account the 2 previous points.
This and other COMEX futures are available on the Clearport and Globex platforms. Trading is conducted from 17:00 to 16:00 (Central Time), trading begins on Sunday and continues until the end of the working week. At 16:00 a one-hour break begins, then trading resumes.
Also available on the COMEX:
- Gold (Enhanced Delivery), ticker – 4GC. The main characteristics are the same as those of GC, only the weight tolerance differs - from -12.5% to +7.5%. The contract was created to expand delivery capabilities. Unlike GC, here you can provide additional options, for example, specify a specific type of gold, agree on a delivery method. Compared to GC, the Enhanced Delivery contract has lower liquidity.
- Mini futures (QO). The contract volume has been reduced to 50 ounces, the price increment is 25 cents per ounce or $12.50 per futures. No gold supply is expected.
- Micro futures (MGC), the contract involves the delivery of 10 troy ounces to the buyer. The price change step is 10 cents per ounce or $10 per futures.
- Cleared OTC London Gold Forwards (GBC). The most flexible instrument, the forward size is a multiple of 0.001 troy ounces, the price change is $0.001 per ounce. The work is carried out on the over-the-counter market; unlike futures, the parties can change the conditions, setting the required supply volume, type of precious metal and other details.
- Gold Kilo Futures (GCK). It is assumed that the goods will be delivered, the volume will be 1 kg. Unlike a derivative with the GC ticker, the purity of the metal must be at least 99.99%.
- Gold/Platinum Spread Futures (GPS). A speculative instrument that allows you to make money on the difference between gold and platinum quotes. The contract size is 100 ounces, the price increment is $10 per contract or $0.10 per ounce.
- London Gold Spot Futures (GSP). Delivery contract, the buyer receives 100 troy ounces of gold. The precious metal must be stored in a vault managed by a member of London Precious Metals Clearing Limited. The price change step is 10 cents per ounce or $10 for the entire contract.
- Gold/Silver Ratio Futures (GSR). Futures that allow you to make money on the difference in the prices of silver and gold. The supply of precious metals is not expected.
- Shanghai Gold (CNH) Futures, ticker Settlement contract, size - 1 kg, unit of price change - 0.05 yuan per gram or 50 CNH per futures. The price of gold on the Shanghai exchange is used, hence the name.
- Shanghai Gold (USD) Futures, USD is not used for calculation.
There are also a ton of gold futures trading outside the COMEX. There are 4 types of contracts available in India :
- GOLD – ordinary futures, volume – 1 kg, purity not lower than 995. Maximum purchase size – 10 kg, these are deliverable contracts.
- GOLDM – mini-contracts, the volume is reduced to 0.1 kg, they also provide for the supply of precious metals.
- GOLDGUINEA is an unusual contract, each futures allows you to buy a gold Gandhi coin. Its weight is 8 grams, this is the size of the contract.
- GOLDPETAL – The contract size is only 1 gram, it is also a gold coin. When a futures contract expires, its holder receives a coin/coins.
Other futures :
- Contracts with the ticker GOLDare available on the Moscow Exchange . Size - 1 troy ounce, the price of the precious metal is determined in US dollars, not rubles.
- On the Brazilian Bovespa, futures with a volume of 0.25 kg are traded, this is a delivery contract. The minimum price change is BRL 0.01 per gram.
- The contract is traded on the Argentine MatbaRofex with the ticker ORO. This is also a deliverable futures contract.
- There are 2 contracts available on TFEX (Thailand Futures Exchange) - Gold Futures and Gold Online Futures. In the “online” version, the contract size is determined as a gold quotation of at least 995 purity, multiplied by a multiplier of 300. Gold Futures is divided into 2 subtypes - 10 Baht Gold Futures (GF10) and 50 Baht Gold Futures (GF). The purity of the metal must be at least 96.5%.
GF futures differ in weight. The GF10 has a contract size of 10 baht (a unit of weight in Thailand, equal to approximately 15.16 grams). For GF futures, the size has been increased to 50 baht.
- There are 2 futures available on the Turkish exchange - in lira and in US dollars. The XAUTRY contract size is 1 gram, the price of the precious metal is used in lira. XAUUSD – size increased to one troy ounce, dollar price of gold is used. Both contracts are settlement contracts.
- Regular, mini and so-called rolling-spot contracts are available on the Japanese exchange. The regular size is 1 kg, the mini and rolling-spot size is 100 grams. The peculiarity of “rolling” futures is that they can be extended and do not have a fixed expiration date.
- On the Malaysian Bursa Malaysia you can work with FGLD futures. This is a delivery contract, its size is defined as 40 x the cost of a troy ounce of 995-carat gold.
- There are 2 types of futures traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange - GDU and GDR, the first is traded in dollars, the second in Chinese yuan. The contract size is 1 kg of 9999 standard gold.
- On Taiwan Futures Exchange, you can work with 2 types of gold futures - TAIFEX Gold Futures (GDF) and TAIFEX NT Dollar Gold Futures (TGF). For GDF, the contract size is 10 troy ounces, which is 995 gold. TGF involves working with 9999 purity gold, the size is reduced to 375 grams.
general characteristics
In today's world, financiers and economists have long abandoned the physical backing of banknotes with real liquid goods. Even the US dollar has ceased to be pegged to gold since 1971. Many people still see the only option to save their capital through investing in this ancient protective asset, like buying a gold bar or coins in a bank. Slightly more advanced investors use so-called “metal accounts”. But in both options, the bank sets monstrous spreads, which offset any growth in gold.
In such a situation, the international market comes to the aid of the investor. Gold futures, forwards and digital gold options will allow the enterprising trader not only to preserve his capital, but also to increase it.
In 1792, 1 ounce of gold cost $19.25 in the United States. In 2016, 1 ounce of gold already cost $1233.70, in 2021 – $1740.
But how to make correct forecasts for gold ? As with any other stock trading instrument, there are 2 approaches: fundamental and technical. They both have a right to exist and are worthy of close study.
Market analysis and factors influencing the price of gold
Leaving technical analysis for the future, let’s first take a closer look at the fundamentals. First of all, it is important to understand that the basic factor in pricing is still supply and demand. Unlike oil, the cost of production of which, even at a price of $40, will be successfully recouped, with gold things are different.
