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Precious metals product and contract specs on MT4
On your MetaTrader 4 Micro, Classic or Pro 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 ounce (troy oz).
| Ticker | Trading hours | Typical spread* | Instant execution** | Size of 1.0 lot | Limit & stop levels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD (gold) |
01:00-00:00 MetaTrader time/EET |
USD0.50 | 5 lots | 100 troy oz |
100 pips |
| XAGUSD (silver) |
01:00-00:00 MetaTrader time/EET |
USD0.04 | 5 lots | 5,000 troy oz |
10 pips |
Micro account
| Gold | Silver | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum volume | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Minimum spread | USD0.50 | USD0.04 |
| Tick value per 1 lot | USD0.10 | USD5.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Leverage/margin (see below) | Up to 1:200/0.50% | Up to 1:200/0.50% |
Classic account
| Gold | Silver | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum volume | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Minimum spread | USD0.50 | USD0.04 |
| Tick value per 1 lot | USD0.10 | USD5.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Leverage/margin (see below) | Up to 1:200/0.50% | Up to 1:200/0.50% |
| Max auto execution | 5 lots | 5 lots |
Pro account
| Gold | Silver | |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | XAUUSD | XAGUSD |
| 1 lot | 100 troy oz | 5,000 troy oz |
| Minimum volume | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Minimum spread | USD0.50 | USD0.03 |
| Tick value per 1 lot | USD0.10 | USD5.00 |
| Minimum price increment (tick size) | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Leverage/margin (see below) | Up to 1:100/1% | up to 1:100/1% |
Position value
Volume (lots) x troy oz (gold: 100; silver: 5,000) x price = position value (USD)
Leverage/margin
Alpari UK uses a floating leverage system which automatically applies higher leverage on a trade by trade basis depending on your trade volume.
An open position of less than USD2 million nominal value carries a maximum leverage of 1:200 (0.50% margin).
An open position of USD2 million to USD4 million carries a leverage of 1:200 for the first USD2 million and a leverage of 1:100 (1% margin) for the remaining USD2 million.
An open position of USD4 million to USD9 million carries a leverage of 1:200 for the first USD2 million, a leverage of 1:100 for the next USD2 million and a leverage of 1:50 (2% margin) for the remaining USD5 million.
For open positions higher than USD9 million, the first USD2 million carries a leverage of 1:200, the next USD2 million carries a leverage of 1:100 and the next USD5 million carries a leverage of 1:50. Everything above carries a leverage of 1:33 (3% margin).
Learn more about floating leverage
Margin is calculated at 0.50% or 1:200 for this example.
Position value (USD) x 0.50% or position value (USD) / 200 = margin in USD
Please be aware that if your account leverage is lower than 1:200, the maximum leverage on precious metals will be equal to your account leverage.
Profit and loss (P&L)
This can be calculated by multiplying volume, tick value and market movement.
Long: (Closing price - open price) / tick size = market movement (ticks)
Short: (Open price - close price) / tick size = market movement (ticks)
Volume (lots) x tick value (USD) x market movement (ticks) = P&L (USD)
Or:
Long: Position value at close (USD) - position value at open (USD) = P&L (USD)
Short: Position value at open (USD) - position value at close (USD) = P&L (USD)
Overnight positions
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 client’s account. Find out more about our rollver/interest policy.
Trading examples
In our specific examples, had you gone long, you would have generated a profit and had you gone short, you would have generated a loss.
Opening a position
| Example: Gold | Example: Silver | |
|---|---|---|
| Open price | USD1,583.050 | USD28.150 |
| Volume (lots) | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| Position value at open | Volume (lots) x 100 troy oz x price (USD) | Volume (lots) x 5,000 troy oz x price (USD) |
| 1.3 x 100 x 1,583.050 | 1.3 x 5,000 x 28.150 | |
| USD205,796.50 | USD182,975.00 | |
| Margin requirement | Position value (USD) x 0.50% | Position value (USD) x 0.50% |
| 205,796.50 x 0.50% | 182,975.00 x 0.50% | |
| USD1,028.98 | USD914.88 |
Closing a position
| Closing price | USD1,601.10 | USD30.10 |
|---|---|---|
| Tick size | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Tick value | USD0.10 | USD5.00 |
P&L calculation
| Market movement | (Closing price (USD) - open price (USD)) / tick size | |
|---|---|---|
| (1,601.100 - 1,583.050) / 0.001 | (30.100 - 28.150) / 0.001 | |
| 18,050 ticks | 1,950 ticks | |
| Profit and loss | Volume (lots) x tick value (USD) x market movement (ticks) | |
| 1.3 x 0.10 x 18,050 | 1.3 x 5 x 1,950 | |
| USD2,346.50 | USD12,675.00 | |
| Or: | ||
| Position value at close | Volume (lots) x 100 troy oz x price (USD) | Volume (lots) x 5,000 troy oz x price (USD) |
| 1.3 x 100 x 1,601.100 | 1.3 x 5,000 x 30.100 | |
| USD208,143.00 | USD195,650.00 | |
| Profit and loss | Position value at close (USD) - position value at open (USD) | |
| 208,143.00 - 205,796.50 | 195,650.00 - 182,975.00 | |
| USD2,346.50 | USD12,675.00 | |
Please be aware that profit and loss will be calculated using standard math rounding. For example, if your profit or loss from a trade is 3.1 US cents, it will be rounded down to 3.0 US cents. If your profit or loss is 3.5 US cents, it will be rounded up to 4.0 cents.
* The typical spreads above will be applicable under normal market conditions. Alpari UK has the right to amend the spreads according to market conditions.
** High-volume deals are executed on request.