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TrustFinance
9월 24, 2026
15 min read
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People who open a trading platform for the first time often do two things in the wrong order: they open a gold order first, and only then do they find out how large the contract they just entered is, or how much their portfolio changes when the price moves by one dollar.
The safer order is to reverse it: know the contract size and cost first, then decide whether to open a position or not. This article outlines the steps from scratch, and each step will highlight common pitfalls for beginners, without recommending any specific platform.
Start by determining the amount of money you can truly afford to lose. Choose a gold investment channel suitable for that capital. Verify the platform's credibility before transferring funds. Read the full contract specifications. Calculate the value per point in Thai Baht. Practice on a demo account, then start with the smallest possible size, setting a stop-loss for every order.
Summary of steps:
1. Determine the amount of money you can truly afford to lose
2. Choose a channel and verify the platform before transferring funds
3. Read the contract specifications before placing your first order
4. Calculate the value per point and cost in Thai Baht
5. Practice on a demo account before moving to real money
6. Set a stop-loss and determine position size based on risk
7. Keep a journal and review every order
XAU is the international code for gold, and USD is the US Dollar. The number on the screen therefore refers to the price of one troy ounce of gold in US Dollars, not the price per baht of gold used by gold shops in Thailand.
One troy ounce is approximately 31.1035 grams, and gold in the global market refers to a purity of 99.5 percent or higher. In contrast, gold commonly traded in Thailand refers to 96.5 percent purity. The units and standards are different from the start, so direct price comparison is not possible.
The industry's central reference price is the LBMA Gold Price, determined through two daily auctions in the London market (LBMA Reference). Global gold trading volume is concentrated in the London OTC market, COMEX futures market, and Shanghai Gold Exchange, together accounting for over 90 percent, with London alone making up about 70 percent (World Gold Council Reference). The opening and closing times of these markets affect the actual costs you pay.
The term 'gold trading' in common parlance covers several channels with entirely different mechanisms. Each type requires different levels of capital and incurs different kinds of costs.
| Channel | Required Capital | Leverage | Storage / Overnight Holding Cost | Suitable For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physical Gold Bars | Full amount based on weight | None | Storage fees or safe deposit box, plus premium | Long-term physical asset holders, not frequent traders |
| Gold Futures in Regulated Markets | Deposit margin as required by the market | Yes, but determined by the market | No daily swap fees, but contracts have an expiry date | Those who want to trade in markets with regulatory oversight |
| CFD or spot XAU/USD | Deposit margin as required by the platform, starting with the lowest amount | Highest among the four channels | Overnight swap fees, plus spread for every open/close cycle | Those who understand margin mechanisms and can tolerate short-term volatility |
| Gold ETF | Equal to the value of investment units purchased | None within the product itself | Annual management fees | Those holding gold as part of a portfolio through a brokerage account |
For contracts registered in Thailand, the futures market offers both Gold Futures, which reference 96.5 percent gold and are priced in Thai Baht, and Gold Online Futures, which are priced in US Dollars per troy ounce like the global market (TFEX Reference). The remainder of this article will focus on XAU/USD as CFD or spot, as it is the channel beginners encounter most often.
Before opening any account, answer this question with a specific number: if this entire sum of money were to disappear, would your daily life still continue normally? That number is the ceiling for your trading account, not your entire savings, and not borrowed money.
Common Pitfall: Starting with the question of what the minimum deposit is to open an account, and then depositing exactly that amount. The minimum amount to open an account and the amount sufficient to withstand gold's volatility are two different figures. An account with just enough money to open an order will be forced to close very quickly if the price moves against it even slightly.
Refer back to the table above to see which channel suits your capital level. Then, verify the platform itself before transferring funds. This step is not about who advertises lower spreads, but about which regulatory body issued their license, whether the license truly covers the legal entity you will be transferring money to, and whether client accounts are segregated from company accounts.
This step is extensive enough to be an article on its own. Read the full version at Is Your Forex Broker Trustworthy? 7 Steps Before Depositing Funds, which is also applicable to gold trading.
Common Pitfall: Seeing the name of a regulatory body on the website and immediately trusting it, without actually searching for the license number in that body's database.
For XAU/USD, there are four things you must read: the contract size per lot, the minimum lot size that can be opened, the margin rate required, and the trading hours for this asset, which often differ from general currency pairs.
The widely used standard is one lot equals 100 troy ounces, consistent with the standard gold contract size on COMEX (CME Group Reference). However, this is not a universal rule; some platforms use different sizes, so you must always read the specifications page of the platform you are using. The mechanism and risks of leverage, which is often displayed alongside, are explained at What is Leverage in Forex and How Risky is it?
Common Pitfall: Assuming that 1 lot of gold is equivalent to 1 lot of a currency pair, even though the value per unit of movement differs significantly. The result is opening a position size that is too large from the very first order.
Assumptions in this example are for illustrative purposes only and are not current prices or rates: Gold price at $4,300 per troy ounce, contract size of 1 lot equals 100 troy ounces, and an exchange rate of 33 Thai Baht per $1.
The next number to consider is that gold can swing by tens of dollars per ounce on some days. If you hold 1 lot and the price swings by $20 per ounce, your portfolio will change by $2,000, or approximately 66,000 Thai Baht, in a single day. This can go both ways equally.
How to count units and calculate profit/loss per unit is explained at What is a Pip? How to Calculate Profit/Loss per Pip. For the spread cost of gold, which is wider than major currency pairs due to structural reasons, read more at What is Gold Spread? Why is it Wider Than Forex Spreads?
Common Pitfall: Calculating only the desired profit, but never calculating the loss side for the same size, even though it's the exact same equation.
A demo account is for answering mechanical questions, not for proving profitability. What you should test is how each order type differs, where to set a stop-loss on the screen, where spreads and fees appear in reports, and what additional charges are deducted when holding overnight. Only when you can place all order types without needing to open a manual should you move to real money, starting with the smallest size allowed by the platform.
Common Pitfall: Trading on a demo account with hundreds of thousands of simulated dollars, which is nowhere near the actual money to be used. Risk-taking behavior is therefore completely different, and habits formed become an immediate problem when switching to real money.
The correct order is to first determine how much you are willing to lose in this order. See how many dollars the stop-loss should be from the entry price according to the price structure. Then, calculate what the position size should be so that the loss does not exceed the initial figure, rather than choosing the position size first and then finding a place to set the stop-loss.
When the margin in the account falls below the threshold, the platform will issue a margin call or automatically close positions. This mechanism is explained at What is a Margin Call? When Does it Occur and How to Prevent It?
Common Pitfall: Moving the stop-loss further away when the price moves against you, with the reasoning that it will eventually come back. Doing this turns a planned loss into an unlimited loss.
A practical journal doesn't need to be complicated. It should include the entry date and time, reason for entry, position size, set stop-loss, outcome, and total costs including spread and overnight holding fees. Once 20 to 30 entries have accumulated, recurring patterns will start to emerge, such as losses concentrated during the same time of day.
Common Pitfall: Recording only net profit/loss but not recording costs, thus failing to see how much accumulated fees have eaten into the results.
Gold can be traded almost 24 hours a day on weekdays because the main trading centers are spread across different time zones. However, being open all the time doesn't mean conditions are always the same.
The period when the London and New York markets overlap has the highest liquidity of the day, and spread costs are usually narrowest during this time, in contrast to periods when major markets are not yet open simultaneously. During important US economic data announcements, such as non-farm payrolls or the Consumer Price Index, gold prices often react violently and spreads temporarily widen.
For those trading gold contracts registered in Thailand, trading hours are different. The Thai futures market is divided into morning and evening sessions according to market-defined times, not continuous like the OTC market.
Note: Forex trading is not yet licensed or regulated by any agency in Thailand. The Bank of Thailand does not have a policy to issue licenses for Forex businesses to retail investors (Thai PBS Reference), and the SEC itself confirms that the Forex business is not under the SEC's supervision but rather under the currency exchange control law (The Standard Reference).
This article is provided for general knowledge only, is not personal investment advice, and does not guarantee any returns. Traders should conduct further research and assess risks independently before making any decisions.
There is no fixed figure, as it depends on the contract size supported by the platform, the margin rate, and the minimum lot size. A practical way to calculate it is to start with your intended trading size, multiply by the margin rate, and then add several times the minimum margin as reserve funds to cover volatility.
The widely used standard is 1 lot equals 100 troy ounces, consistent with the standard gold contract size on COMEX. However, not all platforms use this figure, so you must always read the contract specifications page of the platform you are using.
A usable principle is to start with the smallest size allowed by the platform, and let the position size be determined by the amount of money you are willing to lose per order, not by the amount of money you have in your account. This article does not specify a particular number, as the appropriate size depends on each individual's capital and the distance of their stop-loss.
They differ in terms of ownership and costs. Physical gold bars involve holding the actual asset, paying the full amount, and incurring storage costs. Trading CFD or spot XAU/USD involves holding a contract that references the gold price, requiring only margin, incurring swap fees for overnight holding, and not taking physical possession of gold. See a comparative summary in the investment channels table above.
Trading gold as CFD or spot through foreign service providers is not under the supervision or licensing of any agency in Thailand, as stated in the 'Note' box above. Gold contracts registered in the Thai futures market are a different case, as they are under a regulated market. This difference affects the channels for complaints in case of disputes.
The order presented in this article has one sole reason: to ensure every figure is calculated before real money is used. Know how large the contract you are holding is, how much your portfolio changes when the price moves by one dollar, and where your stop-loss is before clicking 'open'.
The two most frequently skipped steps are Step 2 and Step 4, which coincidentally are the two steps with the highest cost of skipping. One involves the risk of where your money will end up, and the other is the risk of realizing too late that you've taken on too large a position.
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