Brokers /
IG Group
IG Group Review
The giant of the CFD and Spread Betting industry. Ideal for retail traders who need granular position sizing outside of standard futures contracts.
Instrument Structure (CFDs)
IG does not route your commodity orders to a central exchange. Instead, they write a Contract for Difference (CFD) with you, mirroring the underlying futures or spot market price. They make their money primarily on the spread markup and overnight financing fees.
The Sizing Advantage
A standard CME Gold futures contract is 100 ounces (approx $230,000 notional). This requires significant margin. IG allows you to trade Gold CFDs at a fraction of that size (e.g., £0.50 per point), making commodity exposure accessible for sub-$10,000 accounts.
Continuous vs Forward Contracts
IG offers two ways to trade commodities:
- Spot (Continuous) CFDs: Prices have no expiry date. Great for technical analysis charting. However, you pay a daily overnight funding fee.
- Forward CFDs: These mirror specific futures expirations (e.g., "US Crude Dec 24"). They do not incur daily overnight funding fees (the cost of carry is baked into the spread), making them better for swing trades over several weeks.