On your MetaTrader Micro and Classic account you can trade precious metals against USD: gold (XAUUSD) and silver (XAGUSD). When trading these products, you will essentially be buying the metal and selling the USD (if long) or selling the metal and buying USD (if short).
Alpari precious metals are priced in USD per troy oz (troy ounces).
| Ticker | Minimum spread* | Typical spread | Instant execution** | Size of 1.0 lot | Limit & stop levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD (gold) |
50 pips |
51 pips | 5 lots | 100 troy oz |
100 pips |
| XAGUSD (silver) |
4.0 pips |
4.0 pips | 5 lots | 5000 troy oz |
10 pips |
* The above typical spreads will be applicable under normal market conditions. Alpari (UK) has the right to amend the above spreads according to market conditions.
** High volume deals are executed by request.
| GOLD | SILVER | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum volume | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Minimum spread |
USD0.5 |
USD0.04 |
| Tick value (Per 1 Lot) | USD5.00 | USD50.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.05 | 0.01 |
| Margin (see below) | 2% | 2% |
| GOLD | SILVER | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum value | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Minimum spread |
USD0.5 |
USD0.04 |
| Tick value (Per 1 lot) | USD5.00 | USD50.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.05 | 0.01 |
| Margin (see below) | 2%/5% | 2%/5% |
| Max auto execution | 5 Lots | 5 Lots |
| GOLD | SILVER | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum value | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Minimum spread |
USD0.5 |
USD0.03 |
| Tick value (Per 1 lot) | USD5.00 | USD50.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.05 | 0.01 |
| Margin (see below) | 2%/5% | 2%/5% |
The value of a position can be calculated as the price multiplied by the number of troy oz.
Example of position value:
A client buys 1.3 lots of spot gold at 891.60.
The total value of that position for margin purpose will be (1.3 x 100 x 891.60) = USD115,908
Margin will be 2% for position sizes up to 5 lots (gold 500 troy oz/silver 25,000 troy oz) then 5% for larger positions.
Margin is calculated at 2% or 1:50 for this example.
USD115,908 x 2% or 115,908/50 = USD2,318.16
This can be calculated by multiplying tick value, lot size and market movement (open price-closing price x 10)
In this example, the client's position was closed at 884.20.
Market movement = (891.60-884.20) x 10
= 74 pips
1.3 x 10 x 74 = USD962.00
As with Forex all positions held overnight will be rolled to the new spot value date and will therefore incur an overnight swap charge or credit to the clients account.
Click here for precious metals product specifications on the QTrader and L2 Dealer platforms.
Trading contest live at the London Investor Show FOREX 24 February 2012
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