Limpopo Options
Options

Options

Premium, expiry and the clock: how an option differs from a CFD on gold, and which route is actually open.

what one round turn costsSpreadpaid the instant you enterCommissionon raw-spread accounts onlySwapevery night the position is heldThe bars show which cost usually dominates over a holding period — not an amount. What you actually paydepends on your account type and the hour you trade.
An option costs a premium and carries a clock; a CFD costs spread and swap. Different bills, different trades.

An option and a CFD are not the same trade

An option is the right to buy or sell at a set price before a set date. You pay a premium for it, the most you can lose is that premium, and the clock is part of the position. A CFD is linear exposure with no expiry, margin instead of a premium, and a swap charged every night.

So they answer different questions about gold. A defined, time-boxed risk is the option's job; staying in a move as long as it lasts is the CFD's.

What is on the route we can actually check

The broker we link to publishes CFDs, not an options book — our fact bank records its instrument list, and options are not in it. If an options contract is specifically what you want, this is not the route to it, and we would rather say so on this page than find out for you later.

If what you want is leveraged exposure to gold with a stop you set yourself, that is a CFD, and the arithmetic is on our side of the site: margin, position size and profit.

What the premium is actually priced on

Two things move a premium besides the price itself: how much time is left, and how much movement the market expects. That is why a buyer can be right about direction and still finish the week down — the clock took more than the move gave.

Anyone selling you a strategy that ignores those two inputs is selling you the half of options that looks simple.

Ready when your numbers are

Trade gold with FxPro

FxPro gives South African traders MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge for XAU/USD, with funding by local card, bank transfer in ZAR and e-wallet. Check which FxPro entity your account is opened with before you fund it.

Trade gold with FxPro →
FAQ

Common questions

What is the difference between a gold option and a gold CFD?

An option gives you a right, with a premium paid up front and a defined expiry, while a CFD is an open-ended position financed by margin and closed when you choose. The option caps your loss at the premium; the CFD does not, because losses can exceed your initial margin. The routes carry different risk shapes.

Which route is actually open to me for gold in South Africa?

It depends on the instrument and the entity your account is opened with, because not every route is offered to every client. CFDs on XAU/USD are the common retail route through the platforms FxPro publishes, while listed or exchange-traded options availability varies. Confirm what your own account can access before planning a strategy.

How does premium and expiry change my risk compared with a CFD?

Premium is the most you can lose on a long option, and expiry sets the date after which the right disappears. A CFD has no expiry and no premium, but it has margin calls and no capped loss. Position size and margin calculator show the CFD exposure; for options, the premium is the whole risk figure.

Can I use leverage on gold options the way I do on CFDs?

Not in the same way. Leverage on a CFD is set by margin requirements, with retail clients able to access up to 1:200 and eligible or professional clients up to 1:500 depending on the instrument. An option embeds its leverage in the premium and the strike, so the two are not directly comparable.

Do I need a different account to trade options rather than CFDs?

Possibly, because options and CFDs are separate product lines and access depends on the entity and the account permissions granted. Check the product list on the entity serving your account before assuming either route is available. If options are not offered there, the CFD route is the one you can actually plan around.