If you’ve ever traded gold CFDs, you probably noticed how spreads can eat into your profits before your trade even moves in your favor. For scalpers and day traders, tight spreads are crucial, but even swing traders benefit from minimizing unnecessary costs. Today, let’s break down how gold CFD spreads work, why they matter, and practical ways to trade gold without losing out on high spreads.

Understanding Gold CFD Spreads

In simple words, a spread is the difference between the bid (selling) and ask (buying) price. This is essentially the broker’s fee for facilitating your trade. For gold CFDs, spreads can vary significantly depending on the broker, market liquidity, and trading hours.

For example, if the bid price for gold is $1,900 and the ask is $1,901, the spread is $1. This might seem small, but for large positions or multiple trades, spreads add up quickly. High spreads reduce your net profit or deepen your loss before the market moves in your favor.

Why Gold Spreads Are Often High

Gold is a popular CFD instrument with high liquidity, but spreads can still spike due to:

• Low liquidity periods (late US or Asian sessions).
• Major economic news releases (e.g., US CPI, Fed announcements).
• Broker account type – standard accounts typically have higher spreads compared to ECN or raw accounts with added commissions.

Choose the Right Broker & Account Type

One of the easiest ways to lower your spread costs is by selecting brokers that offer competitive gold spreads. Let’s look at some of the top choices in 2025:

IC Markets

IC Markets is renowned for its ultra-low spreads starting from 0.1 pip on gold CFDs with fast execution via MT4, MT5, and cTrader platforms. They charge a small commission per lot but remain ideal for scalpers and intraday traders due to reliable execution speeds.

Exness

Exness offers raw spreads averaging around 0.037 USD with commission charges. They also provide swap-free accounts for those avoiding overnight interest fees, making them suitable for both Islamic traders and high-frequency traders.

Tickmill

Tickmill’s zero spread accounts deliver spreads from 0.09 pip with commissions. Their FCA regulation adds an extra layer of trust and they cater well to active traders needing consistent low spreads.

FP Markets

FP Markets provides spreads from 0.06 USD in their Raw account type, combined with ~96ms execution speeds. This is especially beneficial for scalping strategies and fast market conditions.

Standard vs. Raw/ECN Accounts

Most brokers offer standard accounts (no commission, higher spreads) and raw/ECN accounts (lower spreads, small commission per trade). If you’re an active trader placing multiple trades daily, raw accounts often prove cheaper despite the commission because of significantly reduced spreads.

Trading Smart: Techniques to Avoid High Spread Costs

Apart from choosing the right broker, here are actionable tips to reduce your spread-related costs:

Trade During Peak Hours: The London-New York overlap has the highest liquidity, resulting in tighter spreads. Avoid trading during low-volume hours unless necessary.

Use Limit Orders: Market orders often result in slippage, increasing your effective spread. Limit orders help you enter at your desired price, keeping spreads predictable.

Monitor Economic Calendar: Spreads widen drastically during major news releases. Stay informed to avoid unnecessary costs.

Test Brokers on Demo: Every broker behaves differently. Test their spread consistency on demo accounts before going live.

Beyond Spreads: Total Cost Awareness

While spreads are important, they’re only part of your total trading cost. Factor in:

Commissions: Especially for raw accounts.

Swap Fees: Overnight holding costs can erode profits if positions remain open long-term.

Slippage: Fast markets can result in entries worse than expected, increasing real costs.

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees: Hidden charges when funding or withdrawing profits.

Always calculate your break-even point, including spread + commission + swap, to make strategic decisions confidently.

Real Trader Insight

One Reddit trader said, “My broker’s spread was killing my gold trades. Switching to a raw account with commissions reduced my costs by 40%, making scalping actually profitable.”

This insight shows the importance of comparing real trading costs instead of focusing only on advertised spreads.

Alternatives: Futures or ETFs

If spreads remain a concern, gold futures or ETFs are worth exploring. Futures offer tighter spreads with added margin requirements and regulation by exchanges. ETFs are suitable for longer-term holders seeking exposure to gold without active trading costs.

Final Thoughts

Trading gold CFDs without high spreads is not just about finding the “cheapest broker.” It requires strategic choices: selecting the right account type, trading during high liquidity, using limit orders, and tracking total costs. Remember, consistent small savings on spreads accumulate into substantial profits over time.

If you’re serious about mastering gold trading and other financial markets, check out Quantam Market Minds’s trading courses today to build your confidence with practical, result-driven strategies.

Investing in your knowledge is the best way to ensure spreads and costs become strategic variables you control, rather than obstacles that drain your capital. Stay informed, test your brokers, and keep refining your execution to maximize every trade’s potential.