Contracts for difference FAQs

1. What are CFDs?
2. What Live account types can CFDs be traded on?
3. What CFDs do you offer?
4. What does order volume mean?
5. What is the minimum volume I can trade for a CFD product?
6. Can I specify the leverage for my CFD trades?
7. How do I calculate margin?
8. How do I calculate my profit and loss for CFDs?
9. What are the trading hours for CFDs?
10. Are there any swap charges for CFDs?
11. How do I access the History Center?

1. What are CFDs?

Contracts for difference (CFDs) are derivative products which enable you to trade on the price movement of financial assets (such as indices and commodities).

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2. What Live account types can CFDs be traded on?

CFDs can be traded on our Classic and, as an underlying asset, on spread betting accounts.

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3. What CFDs do you offer?

We offer commodities and indices. Please check our product specifications for more details.

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4. What does order volume mean?

The order volume for CFDs refers to how many contracts you can trade. Example: A volume of 0.1 would be a tenth of a contract.

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5. What is the minimum volume I can trade for a CFD product?

The minimum volume that you can trade on CFDs is 0.1 of a contract.

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6. Can I specify the leverage for my CFD trades?

The margin requirement for CFD products is fixed for each particular CFD instrument you would like to trade. Please refer to the contract specifications following the links below for both commodities and indices:

Product and contract specifications for index CFDs

Product and contract specifications for commodity CFDs

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7. How do I calculate margin?

There is a fixed margin for each CFD product. The margin amount is based on one contract. Please refer to our CFD contract specifications for margin requirements.

Example:
UK100 the margin requirement is GBP400 for 1 contract.
For a volume of 0.1 UK100 the margin would be GBP40.

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8. How do I calculate my profit and loss for CFDs?

To calculate the profit and loss for an index CFD , please follow the example below:

Market movement = (closing price – opening price) / minimum increment

Profit and loss = market movement x increment value x volume

Example:
Instrument: US500
Volume: 0.1
Open price: 1,250.00
Close price: 1,251.00
Increment: 0.25
Increment value: USD12.50

Market movement = (closing price – opening price) / minimum increment

Market movement = (1,251.00-1,250.00) / 0.25

Market movement = 4 increments

Profit and loss = market movement x increment value x volume

Profit and loss = 4 increments x USD12.50 x 0.1

Profit and loss = USD5.00

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9. What are the trading hours for CFDs?

The trading hours depend on the individual CFD product.

Commodity CFD information.

Index CFD information.

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10. Are there any swap charges for CFDs?

There are no swap charges for CFD trades.

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11. How do I access the History Center?

We have historical data for CFDs available in the Market Watch window.

These symbols are not tradable; they only serve as a source for historical data and begin with an underscore (eg: _CL).

The current tradable CFD is marked with a letter as a suffix, such as CL.G3.

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