Pepperstone is where we would trade gold from Hong Kong: Razor spreads on spot gold start from 0.08 with a $3.50 per lot per side commission, the Standard account has no commission, you can hold your balance in HKD, and it also quotes gold in Chinese yuan. Capital.com and XS are the alternatives.
Short answer: Pick Pepperstone for gold if you want a choice between raw-spread and all-in pricing and an HKD account; it is an offshore firm, not SFC-licensed.
Spot gold on Pepperstone Razor: spreads from 0.08 plus $3.50 per lot per side; on Standard, no commission and a wider spread.
Retail leverage on gold at Pepperstone's international entity is up to 1:200; other metals are capped at 1:10 and energies at 1:20.
Pepperstone lists gold priced in yuan (XAUCNH) and Singapore dollars, alongside spot silver, WTI and Brent.
One standard gold lot is 100 troy ounces, so each $0.10 of spread costs $10 per lot.
Capital.com charges no commission on gold; XS offers metals on its Elite raw-spread account.
Gold hours and gold in yuan
Pepperstone's spot gold and silver trade from 01:01 to 23:59 server time on weekdays, which in Hong Kong is roughly 06:00 to 05:00 the next morning during the US summer period. In practice the market is open for your whole day and evening, with a short daily break around the New York close. The busiest stretch for gold is the London and New York overlap, which falls in the Hong Kong evening.
Pepperstone also lists XAUCNH, gold priced in offshore yuan, with shorter hours of 01:01 to 18:59 server time. It suits traders who think in renminbi or want to separate the gold move from the dollar move, but its spread is not published on the website, so compare it with XAU/USD in a demo before you choose it.
Our gold pick
Razor gold from 0.08 plus commission or commission-free Standard, gold in USD, CNH and SGD, and an HKD account option; offshore (SCB), no SFC licence.
XS publishes no loss percentage; its risk warning says it is possible to lose all your capital.
Pepperstone, Capital.com and XS are our partners. We may earn a commission if you open an account through our links. That does not change the facts on this page.
Your questions, answered
What's the best broker for trading oil CFDs?
Pepperstone is our oil pick: it quotes spot WTI and spot Brent, charges no commission on energy CFDs on either account, and says its oil spreads start from 0.02. WTI trades from 01:00 to 23:59 server time on weekdays, so the US inventory data released on Wednesday nights in Hong Kong falls inside the session. Retail leverage on energies at its international entity is capped at 1:20, much lower than on gold, because oil moves fast.
Which broker has the lowest spreads on XAUUSD?
On Pepperstone's Razor account, spot gold spreads start from 0.08, and you add a commission from $3.50 per lot per side. With a 100-ounce lot, a 0.08 spread is $8, so a round trip on one lot costs about $15 at the tightest. The Standard account folds everything into a wider spread. XS's Elite account also prices metals on raw spreads with a $6 round-turn commission. These are minimums; spreads widen around US data and the daily rollover.
What's the best gold trading platform for beginners?
We suggest Pepperstone's app or MT5 on a Standard account. The Standard account has no commission on gold, so the spread you see is the whole cost, which makes it easier to learn. Start with micro trades of 0.01 lots, one ounce of gold, where each $1 move in price changes your result by $1. Set a stop-loss on every trade and keep leverage well below the 1:200 maximum; nothing forces you to use it.
What's the best broker for scalping gold?
For gold scalping we prefer Pepperstone Razor on cTrader. Spot gold spreads start from 0.08, and cTrader commission is a fixed $6 round trip per lot, which is slightly cheaper than MT4 or MT5 at $3.50 per side. Pepperstone Pro clients who trade heavily can join the active-trader programme, whose example shows a 20% rebate cutting the cost of five gold lots from $50 to $40. Scalping gold around US data is risky, because slippage can exceed the spread.
Which platform lets me trade gold and silver with the lowest fees?
Fees on metals are more than the spread. At Pepperstone, silver and other metals carry no commission on either account, gold carries commission only on Razor, and there are no deposit or inactivity fees. If your account is in HKD and you trade USD-priced metals, your profit and loss are converted at spot; Capital.com states a 0.7% conversion fee for retail clients on markets in a different currency from your account. Overnight funding is the other cost, charged each night you hold.
Which broker is best for trading silver?
Pepperstone works well for silver, with spot silver quoted from 01:01 to 23:59 server time and no commission on either account. Note the leverage: its international entity lists retail leverage on gold at up to 1:200, but caps other metals at 1:10, so a silver position needs far more margin than the same gold position. Pepperstone also quotes silver in Singapore dollars. XS lists silver, platinum and palladium on MT4 and MT5.
Which broker has the lowest spreads on crude oil?
Pepperstone advertises oil CFD spreads from 0.02, the lowest figure we found published on our three picks' sites, though that is a minimum rather than a typical spread. Capital.com and XS publish their oil spreads as variable. Spread is only part of the oil bill: spot oil CFDs carry overnight funding, and For a fair comparison, check spreads during the US session, when liquidity is deepest.
Published 2026-10-21. Informational only, not investment advice. CFDs are leveraged products and most retail accounts lose money.
Our gold pick
No commission on gold
Raw spreads on metals