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Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Options and turbo warrants are complex financial instruments. Trading these financial instruments involves the high risk of losing money rapidly.
Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Options and turbo warrants are complex financial instruments. Trading these financial instruments involves the high risk of losing money rapidly.

Commodities

Trade a range of global commodity markets with barriers and vanilla options, spread betting and CFDs.

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Key benefits

Popular commodities markets

Market name

Value of one contract

Spread

Minimum margin requirement per

Contract: Retail

Minimum margin requirement per

Contract: Professional*

Spot Gold

$100

0.1

5%

0.63%

Spot Silver

$50

1.8

10%

1.8%

Oil – US Crude

$10

2.6

10%

1.35%

Oil – Brent Crude

$10

2.6

10%

1.35%

* Professional clients are exempt from regulatory limits on leverage in place for retail clients, and are able to trade on lower margins as a result. You can find out more, and check your eligibility, on our professional trading page.

See all commodities markets and our full product details

What is commodity trading?

Commodities are the natural resources that form the building blocks of the global economy. Soft commodities –called ‘softs’– are typically agricultural (like wheat and sugar), whereas hard commodities –called ‘hards’– are metals or energies (such as silver or gas).

Commodities are traded on a number of exchanges that specialise in particular markets, including LIFFE for agricultural products, London Metal Exchange for non-precious metals, Chicago Mercantile Exchange for energy and metals, and ICE Futures Exchange for energy.

The commodity markets are driven by many factors, including supply and demand, the weather, economic and political events, and the US dollar (because that’s the currency commodities are normally priced in). As a result of these factors, commodity prices can fluctuate significantly.

Learn more about barriers and vanilla options, spread betting and CFDs and their potential risksDiscover our indices market

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Our commodities services

Undated commodities

With no fixed expiries, our undated commodities offer spread bettors and CFD traders continuous charting, increased transparency and lower spreads on 26 key markets. This enables IG clients to take cost-effective short-term views on markets such as gold and oil.

Discover more about how to trade undated commodities.

Commodities FAQs

How do I trade undated commodities? 

This works in the same way as an index CFD. Just like an index position, you’ll pay a funding charge for holding your commodity position overnight.

In the absence of a continuously traded underlying market, we have created an algorithm to derive a price from the forward curve of each commodity. It will automatically calculate and apply day-to-day funding requirements.

With continuous charting, your technical analysis will be available as long as you want it. IG have used past data to backdate our charts for the last three to five years, so you can get an accurate historical look.

Can I use commodities to hedge?

Yes – investors often buy or sell commodities to help manage their risk. 

In a balanced portfolio, commodities provide a hedge against downward movements in other securities, as they tend to move in the opposite direction, or an unconnected direction, to certain stocks and bonds.

Can I trade emerging commodities with IG?

No – but you can get exposure to them by trading share CFDs in companies that operate in the relevant field. 

Emerging commodities are commodity markets that some investors expect to be booming in the next few years, but which are not currently available to trade as commodity futures (for example, water and ethanol). The only way to trade these products is by trading stock in companies that operate in the relevant field.

How does inflation affect commodity prices?

Commodities can be used as a natural hedge against inflation. If rapid inflation seems imminent, you may see commodity prices rising very quickly – they may even provide the first sign of inflation. This is because people will be moving money out of investments that don’t offer a hedge against inflation and into the commodity markets, to protect their assets.