Gold spreads — explained simply

The spread is the difference between the buy price (Ask) and sell price (Bid) for any instrument at a given moment. It's essentially how a broker earns money (or part of it) instead of, or alongside, a separate commission on certain account types.

Every trade you open starts "below zero" by the spread amount — the price needs to move in your favour by at least the spread before you're actually in profit.

A wider spread means you need a bigger price move to break even — which affects short-term traders (scalpers) or anyone opening many trades per day more than long-term traders.

• Fixed spread: stays roughly the same number most of the time, regardless of market conditions.
• Variable (floating) spread: changes with market liquidity — tight during calm periods, and widens during major news or sharp volatility.

Most major brokers (covered in the broker guide) run variable spreads on their Raw/Zero account types.

Say you open a 1-lot gold position (100 ounces), with a 0.30 spread:

If you're opening many trades over a month, the difference between a 0.10 spread and a 0.40 spread adds up fast and eats into net profits.

1. Choose a low-spread account type if you're an active trader (e.g. Raw Spread or Zero accounts, where spreads on major instruments can reach 0.0 in exchange for a small separate commission).
2. Avoid opening trades right at major news releases — spreads widen sharply in those moments.
3. Compare the actual live spread on gold specifically across a few brokers before opening an account, not just the general EURUSD spread.