Trading gold futures has become increasing popular as the price of gold has fluctuated so greatly in recent months. Gold futures are contracts that provide for the delivery of gold in the future at a price that is agreed upon in advance. The advantage of trading gold futures lies in the fact that this asset is traded via a centralized exchange, which allows for more leverage and flexibility than one could get when trading gold as an asset on its own.
XAU/USD Exchange Rate
XAU/USD is the ratio of gold to the U.S. dollar and appears as such on commodities markets. World currencies are affected by rising gold prices and the higher prices are quite significant to the currencies of major gold-producing countries such as Canada, Australia and South Africa. An investor who believes the price of gold will continue to increase, can trade in the Australian dollar (AUD), the Canadian dollar (CAD) or the South African Rand (ZAR) instead of investing only in the US dollar, because the other currencies have tremendous potential.
Price Fluctuations
Gold to the dollar is traded on several financial exchanges, primarily New York, Hong Kong, Zurich, Tokyo, and Sydney. It is the London bullion market, however, that has a greatest influence on the world gold trading markets. The price of gold fluctuates greatly but for trading purposes it generally fixed twice each business day at 10:30 am and 3:00 pm UK time by the London Gold Market Fixing Ltd. It is important to watch the charts for a trend in gold prices before purchasing futures at any time of year.
There’s no question that the price of gold is important for traders of many currencies because of the correlation between gold prices and currency values. For this reason, the DailyForex team strives to provide regular updates about the price of gold today. Get the latest information here, or take a look back to see how this metal has been performing over time.