What Is the Spread in Commodities?
The spread in Commodities is the gap between the buy price and the sell price of an instrument, such as gold (XAUUSD), silver (XAGUSD) or Brent crude (UKOUSD). It's already built into the price you see, so it isn't charged as a separate fee. A Long position opens at the buy price and closes at the sell price; a Short position does the opposite. Your separate trading costs are the JFX & KBI fee and VAT, which the order summary shows before you confirm, plus swap on positions still open at the daily rollover. Pluang currently charges no transaction fee on Commodities (0%).
- Two prices, one gap: Every Commodities instrument has a buy price and a sell price at the same moment, and the spread is the difference between them.
- Long and Short: A Long position opens at the buy price and closes at the sell price. A Short position opens at the sell price and closes at the buy price.
- How you pay it: Through the price itself. The spread never appears as its own line and isn't deducted from your USD Margin (Commodities) balance separately.
- The costs that are charged separately: A JFX & KBI fee of US$0.10 per lot, capped at US$1 per order, on opening and on closing, with 11% VAT, plus swap on positions still open at the daily rollover. Pluang currently charges no transaction fee on Commodities (0%).
Related questions:
Q: Is the spread a separate fee in Commodities?
No. The spread is built into the buy and sell prices, so it's never deducted from your balance as its own line item. You pay it through the price, because you open on one side of the gap and close on the other. The JFX & KBI fee, VAT and any swap are the costs charged separately; the transaction fee is currently 0%.
Q: Why is my Commodities position at a loss right after I open it?
Partly because of the spread. A Long opens at the buy price but would close at the sell price, and a Short works the other way round, so a new position starts slightly negative. The small JFX & KBI fee, plus VAT, deducted when the position opens, adds to that. The price has to move in your favour by more than these costs before the position breaks even.
Q: Does the spread apply to both Long and Short positions?
Yes. Every position opens on one side of the gap and closes on the other: a Long buys at the buy price and closes at the sell price, and a Short sells at the sell price and closes at the buy price. Either way, the spread is part of the price you trade at.
Q: Where can I see the prices before I trade?
Go to Explore → Commodities, open the Leverage tab and choose XAUUSD, XAGUSD or UKOUSD. The order page shows the "Market Price", the "Est. Total Exposure" and the "Est. Margin Required" for your order, and the order summary shows the fees before you confirm.