Trading gold with FxPro

A contract on the gold price, beside a piece that has to be tested, weighed and sold back

A gold CFD is a contract for difference on the world gold price. You do not own metal, and you have no claim on any bar, coin or piece of jewellery. The contract is settled in the account's currency, and its value moves with the metal. That is the whole of it: a price exposure, not a physical holding. A piece of jewellery, by contrast, must be tested for karat, weighed, and then sold back to a dealer who will deduct a buy-back margin. The CFD has no making charge, no wastage, and no buy-back deduction, because there is nothing to make, waste or buy back. The two are different instruments, and the broker page describes only the CFD.

Opening an account requires identification and takes a day or two. A practice account exists and costs nothing. FxPro is an international broker; this site is not the broker and takes no money from the reader. The contract is offered by FxPro, not by this site, and the terms are FxPro's.

Why karat and making charges have no meaning in a contract that delivers nothing

Karat is a measure of purity in a physical piece. Making charges are what a jeweller adds for labour, and buy-back deductions are what a dealer subtracts when you sell. None of these exist in a CFD, because no metal is delivered. The contract tracks a price, and that price is the world gold price per troy ounce in US dollars, converted into the account's currency. A reader who buys a 22 karat chain pays for the metal content, the making charge, and sometimes a wastage fee. A reader who opens a CFD on gold pays the broker's spread and any other fees stated in the terms. The two are not comparable line by line, and a page that mixes them misleads. This page keeps them apart.

The CFD carries no claim on any bar or piece of jewellery. It is a derivative, and its value is settled in the account's currency. The price it tracks is the world gold price, not a Kenyan shilling price. The shilling rate matters only if the account is held in shillings, and the conversion is done by the broker at its own rate.

What to read in the terms before an account is opened from Kenya

Before opening an account, read the broker's terms for the contract. Look for the spread, the overnight financing charge if the position is held, the margin requirement, and the currency conversion fee if the account is not in US dollars. These are the costs that determine whether a price move reaches your pocket. Also check the broker's dispute resolution process and the law that governs the contract. FxPro is an international broker, and the account is not covered by a Kenyan regulator. This page does not promise profit or safety, and it does not state that the broker is licensed, registered or supervised in this country. The reader must check the broker's own disclosures.

A practice account costs nothing and is the best way to see how the platform works before risking money. It does not prepare you for the emotional cost of a live position, but it does show the mechanics. The practice account is offered by FxPro, and this site has no part in it.

FxPro is not licensed by the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya. An account is opened with a company regulated outside Kenya - the group is authorised by the FCA in the United Kingdom and CySEC in Cyprus - so a resident here deals with a foreign firm and the protections of a locally licensed one do not apply. Moving foreign currency abroad for trading goes through a bank or a mobile-money provider and is subject to their rules and to Central Bank of Kenya requirements. Nothing on this site is investment advice.