Best Commodity Trading Platforms

Inflation has reached an unprecedented level after four decades and many individuals consider trading commodities to make a profit.

If you're looking for ways to maximise your buying power, you may be looking for an alternative method.

Trading commodities online is one answer to help you achieve this goal, and commodity trading platforms can make this process easier.

The difficulty you may encounter is selecting a commodity trading platform. There are multiple available on the market with various features. Do you need to find the right platform to begin trading?

Today, we will look at the best platforms for trading commodities in the United Kingdom. Having used these platforms, we will present our direct reviews and findings in this article. Read on for the key facts.

Disclaimer: Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 64% – 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with these providers.

You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

Provider	Score	Details
1. Plus500	★★★★★	Learn More
2. XTB	★★★★★	Learn More
3. Pepperstone	★★★★★	Learn More
4. IG	★★★★★	Learn More
5. OANDA	★★★★★	Learn More
6. Saxo	★★★★★	Learn More
7. CMC Markets	★★★★★	Learn More
8. City Index	★★★★★	Learn More
9. ActivTrades	★★★★★	Learn More
10. Capital.com	★★★★★	Learn More
11. Trading 212	★★★★★	Learn More
12. FXCM	★★★★★	Learn More

What Are Commodity Trading Platforms?

After researching commodity trading platforms, you'll already know they're an online marketplace where you can sell commodities.

You'll find that trading commodities such as precious metals, raw materials, and natural resources like natural gas, copper or gold is possible.

These platforms enable investors to purchase and sell commodities as investments directly. This action means there is no need to use a financial advisor or sell commodities like gold indirectly. You'll see that these platforms are known as trading or online brokerage accounts.

Offering software to investors, the platforms facilitate real-time portfolio tracking. They make it simpler for you to make timely decisions about your investments.

How Do Commodity Trading Platforms Work?

You may already know these online platforms require creating an account.

You'll be able to do this through trading systems. The online platforms will request your bank account and national insurance information.

You'll also need to undergo electronic checks with some platforms and provide additional documents to verify your identity further. You'll then be able to begin trading once funds have been received.

What Are the Features of Commodity Trading Platforms?

These platforms offer plenty of handy features, making trading commodities easy. Here are the main features to keep an eye out for when choosing a platform to begin trading.

• Research reports: Offering research reports, these platforms help you gain insights into the market with precise analysis. This feature ensures you make informed decisions when trading commodities. It includes trading charts and price alerts you can consult before trading.
• Risk exposure management: These platforms provide tools that ensure you minimise risk. Some of the tools include limit orders, which allows setting prices you would like to trade at or exit a trade with. You can also use risk calculators to ensure you make well-informed trading choices.
• Mobile applications: Accessibility to these platforms is simple, thanks to mobile applications. You can access your platform and trading markets when you're on the go and trade when necessary.
• Multiple classes of assets: You'll be able to access multiple asset classes with some platforms. For example, it's possible to trade in energy and metals with some platforms.
• Rapid execution: With these platforms, you'll receive rapid execution on your positions. This feature means your trade orders will be processed quickly, eliminating potential delays. It also means the slippage or changes in commodity prices will not affect your profit due to the speed at which the orders take place.
• Trading with leverage features: You can trade commodities with leverage features. This option means using borrowed margins to augment your potential trade returns. This feature is ideal if you have smaller capital amounts and need to control larger market positions.
• Rollover or overnight fees: If you want to hold your position open, you will often need to pay a fee. The fee applies because you're borrowing commodity contracts. They can vary and typically depend on the specific commodity you want to buy and your trading account.
• Access to spot markets: You can sometimes access spot markets with these platforms. These markets enable you to complete and settle transactions immediately. They use the spot price that is available to buyers in real time. 

Commodity Trading Platforms Pros and Cons

Various pros and cons apply to trading commodities.

Here are the ones you'll need to consider when you pick a platform to start trading online.

Pros

✔️ Potentially high returns — You may gain high returns when you trade commodities on online commodity trading platforms. This result is possible when there are imbalances between supply and demand.

✔️ Portfolio diversification — It's possible to diversify your portfolio when trading on these platforms. It enables you to invest in a portfolio of various asset classes and reduce the risk associated with financially volatile commodities.

✔️ Global market access — You can trade commodities online easily with these platforms. They provide access to markets across the globe, so your range is not limited.

✔️ Flexibility and convenience — Since you can trade online with these platforms, you can access markets anytime. You can make trades beyond the regular market hours. This feature provides added convenience when trading.

✔️ Market data transparency — You'll have access to market data, plus quotes for pricing and facts about the historical performance of the commodities you trade. 

✔️ Trading automation — With some platforms, you can automate trading to execute them instantly. You'll also be able to put your established strategies into action automatically with this feature.

✔️ Various strategies to use — You'll be able to select handy strategies thanks to the flexibility of these platforms. Whether you want to focus on long-term investing or day trading, you have the freedom to implement the financial strategy that works for you.

Cons

❌️ Volatile commodity markets — Commodities in the commodity market can be volatile. This volatility means prices can fluctuate and lead to significant financial losses. If you cannot manage your risk, losing money rapidly is a potential outcome.

❌️ Cyclical demand — You will notice that demand for commodities can be cyclical. This disadvantage means the demand for commodities can drop according to market conditions.

❌️ Potential for fraudulent activity — It's important to consider the potential for fraudulent activity on these platforms. Selecting reputable regulated platforms can help you avoid trading commodities on high-risk platforms.

❌️ Potential for loss when trading spread bets — In the event you trade spread bets or speculate on commodity price movement without owning the asset, it's possible to lose money. If you're a new commodity trader, you might find it difficult to manage the high risk of loss. Experienced traders may find the process easier.

❌️ Requires a lot of knowledge — To use commodity trading platforms and trade commodities, you must thoroughly understand commodity markets. You'll also need to complete a lot of research and analyse the markets, which can take time.

❌️ Specific trading hours — A few of these platforms give you access to commodities that are only available during limited trading hours.

Best Commodity Trading Platforms — Reviews

Plenty of options are available if you intend to use a platform for commodity trading.

We used 12 platforms to determine which ones offer the most advantages. To select the best ones, check out our direct reviews here.

1. Plus500

80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We were able to access leverage features at the rate of 1:20. Therefore, we could trade with up to 20 times the unit value in terms of our capital. This advantage increased our chances of making greater profits because we could control larger positions, but it also meant the potential for losses was greater if the market moved negatively.

Some additional commodities we could trade included low sulphur gasoil, coffee, palladium, natural gas, platinum, sugar, copper, cocoa and Brent oil.

Like some commodity trading platform alternatives, Plus500 offers a guaranteed stop order. With this feature, we could guarantee the stop loss level and manage our risk more easily. Other features and fees include an inactivity fee and a currency conversion fee.

However, when we used this platform, we noticed it did not charge deposit fees. It also didn't charge us for withdrawal fees.

2. XTB

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 77% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We noticed that this platform offers ultra-fast execution and found that this feature greatly minimised slippage. There were very few delays, meaning we received good trade outcomes despite trading in volatile markets. 

We were able to receive a good spread on many trades. The main difference between the ask and sell price of the financial instruments we traded was approximately 0.007 units. We were rewarded with a low cost to enter trades with this spread.

Since there were no swaps on most commodities, we did not need to pay fees for overnight swaps or holding positions. We also found that we could trade with up to 10 times the unit value in terms of our capital by amplifying our trading capacity.

In our case, we were able to increase profits but noted that the risk of losses was greater with the leverage power we had.

3. Pepperstone

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75.2% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

The full range of tradable commodities includes various metals such as palladium and platinum, energies such as gasoline and spot crude, soft commodities such as cocoa, corn, coffee, sugar, oats and wheat, and hard commodities such as zinc, nickel, lead and aluminium.

We found the customer support that Pepperstone offers useful and even received assistance on the weekend. We also gained top-tier liquidity, which ensured our trades were filled in full. This advantage meant there were no partial executions on our trades.

With Pepperstone, we learned that all commodity trades were spot markets with leverage. Our trades were, therefore, sold at the spot price with low risk involved but with low reward.

However, when we used leverage, we could use small amounts of our initial funds and gain exposure to more significant trade positions. We received this benefit through brokerage support; however, this leverage contributed to an increased risk level when trading commodities.

4. IG

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We could access and trade high-grade copper, palladium and iron ore from the metals markets, as well as gold and silver commodities. Some of the soft commodities we could trade include soya beans and coffee.

When using this service, we learned that more than 18,000 global markets are available and that dealing with them just requires a few steps. We opened a trading account, looked for a trading opportunity, took a position, and monitored our trades.

We could access a few other features as well as the web and mobile app. We could access trading charts, signals and alerts to view live trading charts for commodities, check indicators for buying or selling assets and stay up to date in terms of market movement.

5. OANDA

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We also found the guaranteed stop-loss orders highly useful. We mitigated market gapping and were able to ensure our positions were protected using this feature.

The guaranteed stop loss order applied to gold and indices, letting us exit trades at the specified price. We activated this feature by selecting the stop loss option and choosing the price and distance away from the entry price.

Market volatility was not an issue with this feature; it functioned more efficiently than stop-loss orders, which sometimes do not account for slippage. A premium was charged when the guaranteed stop loss order was triggered.

We could trade a few additional commodities with Oanda, including soft commodities like corn, soybeans and sugar. We could also trade platinum, West Texas oil and palladium.

6. Saxo

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 64% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs, FX or any of our other products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Losses can exceed deposits on some products.

When we looked at the prices for Futures gold, we noticed that the price was 4 USD (Classic). We compared this with the Platinum and VIP accounts and found that it was more expensive, with the Platinum account expecting 2 USD and the VIP account expecting 1 USD.

We could trade on our Mac device and smartphone using the Saxo application. We also accessed a few trading tools, such as analysis and live news feed features.

This platform provides a research tab, giving you access to information about various markets. We could view information related to the markets from the United Kingdom and the United States. More than 8,800+ CFDs, including commodities, are available through this platform.

7. CMC Markets

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when spread betting and/or trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Additional costs were also something to think about when using CMC Markets. We noticed three additional fees applied, from rollover costs and account inactivity fees to market data fees.

We had to pay a fee when we opted to keep a trade open and maintain our position when moving to the next contract. We also had to pay a fee when our account remained dormant and contained funds. This fee was £10 per month, but CMC Markets did not make a deduction if we had no funds in our account.

Regarding market data fees, we had to pay a monthly subscription. This subscription gave us access to price data for specific share CFD instruments and varied depending on the account we opened.

8. City Index

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Various additional features are available with the City Index platform. For example, making a guaranteed stop-loss order is possible without paying an upfront charge. We could select this order and apply it to thousands of global markets.

We found that there are discounts to receive if we chose to roll our futures contracts automatically. 50% discounts apply, and we could even complete spread betting via the platform.

We found that inactivity fees apply in specific circumstances. If our account remained inactive for more than 12 months, meaning we did not use it to place a trade or maintain an open position, we had to pay a monthly inactivity fee of £12. 

When we used the City Index platform, we learned that they do not charge commissions on spread betting markets. 

9. ActivTrades

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We used the ActivTrader mobile app to view charts, a research portal to review the technical analysis of financial markets and performance analytics to review our decision-making.

When making trades, nearly all of them were executed quickly — within 0.004 seconds. This advantage limited the chances of slippage and gave us a high level of negative balance protection.

We found the support offered by ActivTrades highly useful. We could contact their support team via email and were able to communicate with them via instant messaging/chat.

10. Capital.com

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

With their smart risk management tools, we managed our exposure to risk efficiently. The platform offers a guaranteed stop-loss order to set specific prices at which we could exit a trade. We greatly minimised our losses using this feature.

Capital.com also offers a take profit order, ensuring our positions automatically closed when profitable. We found that the position converted into a limit order for execution, which helped us manage risk.

We found that spread betting is possible with Capital.com. We were able to spread bets with commodities and take a position on more than 2,900 markets. We gained several advantages using this platform.

For example, we could set up watchlists that helped us track our preferred markets, customise price alerts to receive a notification when the market reached our specified conditions and receive executions incredibly fast.

Several other benefits apply when using Capital.com to trade. We learned that opening an account costs nothing, that closing an account is free and that there are no deposit fees. Withdrawals also cost nothing; this platform does not charge any trading commission.

Overnight fees will depend on whether you take a long or short position.

11. Trading 212

When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than invested. Past performance doesn’t guarantee future results.

We could analyse the markets with advanced tools, view charts that were easy to understand and place orders that were executed immediately.

When using Trading 212, we could also trade and take long and short positions without effort, plus trade with leverage. These features meant we could use low amounts of our initial funds to gain significant trade positions. This advantage increased our chances of making a profit. 

We also learned that making deposits and withdrawals is free with Trading 212 and that there were no administrative fees for account closure or statements. We incurred an overnight holding fee when we held positions overnight, after 10 pm GMT. This fee depended on the product we traded and the direction of the trade.

In terms of leverage features, we could access a leverage equivalent of 1:20 with gold and 1:10 with other commodities. With these leverage equivalents, we could trade up to 20 times the unit value of gold and 10 times the unit value of other commodities.

Even though the potential for losses was greater if the market moved negatively, we could still make greater profits with this feature by controlling larger positions.

12. FXCM

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

We noticed that contracts for oil and gas did expire each month and that copper contracts expired every two months, while some of the contracts for soft commodities such as wheat and corn expired every three months.

FXCM did not charge us when opening or closing our positions. However, when we held our positions overnight, in some cases, we had to pay a financing charge. 

We found that the costs of trading were factored into the spread. Commission fees were not charged for opening our account. 

Best Commodity Trading Platforms: The Verdict

Trading commodities can help you begin trading and maximising your buying power. Although you may have found it challenging to discover the best commodity trading platforms, our selection will help you begin comparing them. Remember that each platform has different advantages and disadvantages, so reviewing your options carefully is crucial.

Compare trading platforms for commodities to discover the best option for your specific trading needs. Start trading to maximise your buying power and make profits with the top platforms and trading apps for commodities.

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• How to Invest in Commodities
• Best Free Trading Apps UK
• Beginners Guide to Day Trading