(1) physical gold
Physical gold trading includes transactions such as gold bars, gold coins and gold ornaments, with holding gold as an investment. It is certain that the investment is high, and the actual rate of return is the same as other methods, but the amount involved will be low (because the invested funds will not play a leverage effect), and it can only be profitable when the gold price rises. Generally, the buying and selling prices of decorative gold are quite different, so it should not be regarded as investment. Gold bars and coins are the best choice for real gold investment because they do not involve other costs. However, it should be noted that holding gold does not generate interest income.
There are two kinds of gold coins, namely pure gold coins and commemorative gold coins. The value of pure gold coins is basically the same as the gold content, and the price fluctuates with the international gold price, which has the functions of beauty, appreciation, strong liquidity and preservation. The more gold coins there are, the more memorable they are, and the more difficult it is for ordinary investors to identify their value. Therefore, investors are of high quality, mainly satisfying the collection of coin collectors, and the investment value-added function is not great.
The main forms of physical gold in the gold spot market are gold bars and ingots, as well as gold coins, gold medals and jewelry. Gold bars include low-purity placer gold and high-purity strip gold, and generally weigh 400 ounces. Market participants mainly include gold producers, refiners, central banks, investors and other demanders. Among them, gold traders buy and sell in the market, brokers earn commissions and spreads from them, and banks finance them. The spot price difference of gold is generally 0.5- 1 USD per ounce. For example, the New York gold market closed at $ 297.50/8.00 on Friday, and closed at $ 299.00/300.00 the day before. The ounce is the unit of measurement, and 1 ounce is equivalent to 28.35 grams.
Spot investment in gold has two defects: it has to pay for storage and security, and there is no interest income from holding gold. Therefore, by buying and selling futures to temporarily transfer ownership, you can avoid handling fees and gain income. Each futures contract is 100 ounce. Central banks are generally unwilling to make profits by transferring ownership, so the gold lending market came into being.
Attachment: gold swap transaction:
It is the gold holder who exchanges gold bars for money and repurchases gold bars at the agreed forward price when the swap agreement expires. It is said that the central banks of South Africa and the former Soviet Union all prefer this trading method. Recently, the gold reserves in the euro zone rose by 654.38+003 billion euros, because the gold swap contracts of countries in the region expired.
(2) Paper gold
"Paper gold" transaction is a service provided by banks, without the intervention of real money and silver. With a precious metal account that is not in the company, investors do not need to buy and sell gold and settle in kind, because it does not involve the settlement of real money and silver, so the transaction cost can be lower. It is worth noting that although it can be equated with holding gold, the "gold" in the account cannot be exchanged for physical objects. If you want to return the goods in kind, you can only exchange them after making up the full amount. "Chinese paper gold" is a two-way transaction with a margin of 3%, which is a relatively stable tool for direct investment in gold.
(3) Gold mine
Margin trading varieties: Au(T+5) and Au(T+D)
Au(T+5) transaction refers to the installment payment with a fixed settlement period of 5 working days (including the trading day). The buyer and the seller set up a sales contract with a certain proportion of deposit (65,438+0.5% of the total contract amount). The contract cannot be transferred, only a new warehouse can be opened. The net position of an expired contract, that is, the position of a sales contract with the same delivery period, must be delivered in kind. If one of the buyers and sellers breaches the contract, the other party must pay a penalty of 7% of the total contract amount. If both parties breach the contract, both parties must pay 7% penalty to the Gold Exchange.
Au(T+D) transaction refers to the immediate deferred delivery business conducted by margin. The buyer and the seller establish a sales contract with a certain percentage of deposit (65,438+00% of the total contract amount). Unlike Au(T+5) transaction, the contract does not need physical delivery, and buyers and sellers can buy and sell the held contract according to market changes. During the holding period, there will be a delay fee of two ten thousandths of the total contract amount every day (the payment direction depends on the situation of the delivery declaration on the same day, for example, if the customer holds a purchase contract and the delivery declaration on the same day is that the received quantity is more than the delivered quantity, then the customer will get a delay fee, and vice versa). If the position is held for more than 20 days, the exchange will charge an overdue fee of 0. 1 ‰ on each trading day (at present, the cash is withdrawn first). If the buyer and seller choose physical delivery to close the position, the contract will be converted into full transaction. After the successful delivery declaration, if one of the buyers and sellers breaches the contract, it shall pay a penalty of 7% of the total contract amount to the Gold Exchange. If both parties breach the contract, they must pay 7% penalty to the Gold Exchange.
(4) Gold futures
Generally speaking, buyers and sellers of gold futures sell and buy back contracts with the same number as the previous contracts before the contract expires, that is, close positions, and do not really deliver real money and silver. The profit or loss of each transaction is equal to the difference between two contracts in opposite directions. This way of buying and selling is what people usually call "speculating in gold". Gold futures contract trading only needs a margin of about 10% of the transaction amount as the investment cost, with high leverage and a small amount of funds to promote large transactions. Therefore, gold futures trading is also called "margin trading".
The trading contents of most gold futures markets in the world are basically similar, mainly including margin, contract unit, delivery month, minimum fluctuation limit, futures delivery, commission, daily trading volume and commission order.
1 margin. Traders must open an account with brokers before entering the gold futures exchange. Traders should sign relevant contracts with brokers and undertake the obligation to pay the deposit. If the transaction fails, the broker has the right to close the position immediately and the trader has to bear the relevant losses. When traders participate in gold futures trading, they do not need to pay the full amount of the contract, but only need to pay a certain amount (that is, margin) as a guarantee for brokers to operate the trading. The margin is generally set at about 65,438+00% of the total amount of gold transactions. The deposit is a guarantee for the confidence of the contract holder, and the final result of the contract is either physical delivery or transaction before the contract expires. Margin is generally divided into three grades:
The first is the initial deposit. This is the minimum deposit that brokers require customers to pay for each contract when opening futures trading.
The second is to maintain the deposit for a long time. This is the amount of reserves that customers must always maintain. Long-term margin sometimes requires customers to provide additional margin. Additional margin refers to the margin required by brokers to maintain their operation and balance when the market changes in the opposite direction to the trader's position. If the market price moves in the direction favorable to the trader's position, the part that exceeds the margin is equity or income, and the trader may also request to raise the money or use it as the initial margin for another gold futures transaction.
The third is the range of changes in contingencies and profits and losses. The margin paid by the settlement customer to the clearing institution of the exchange according to the results of each trading day is used to compensate the loss caused by the unfavorable price trend of the customer in futures trading.
② Contract unit. Gold futures, like other futures contracts, are completed by multiplying the number of contracts by the standard contract units. Each standard contract unit of new york Stock Exchange is 100 ounce gold bars or three 1 kg gold bars.
③ Delivery month. Gold futures contracts require the submission of gold with a specified purity in a certain month.
(4) Minimum volatility and maximum trading limit. The minimum range refers to the minimum range of each price change, such as the range of each price change is 10 cent; The maximum trading limit is like the daily limit and the daily limit in the securities market. The new york Stock Exchange stipulates that the maximum daily volatility is 75 cents.
⑤ Futures delivery. Traders who purchase futures contracts have the right to obtain gold guarantees, transport bills or gold certificates at any time after the earliest delivery date before the futures contracts are realized. Similarly, traders who sell futures contracts that fail to open positions before the final delivery date must bear the responsibility of delivering gold. The delivery date and final delivery date of each market in the world are different, so investors should distinguish them. If agreed, the earliest delivery date is 15 of the month when the contract expires, and the latest delivery month is 25th of the month. Generally speaking, futures contracts will be closed before the delivery date.
6 trading on the same day. Futures trading can be closed in the opposite direction according to the price change of the day. Intraday trading is a necessary condition for the successful operation of gold futures, because it provides liquidity for traders. Moreover, there is no need to pay a deposit for the day's trading, only when the open contract is finally paid to the exchange.
⑦ Description. An order is an order from a customer to a broker to buy and sell gold, in order to prevent misunderstanding between the customer and the broker. Description includes: behavior (whether to buy or sell), quantity and description (i.e. market name, delivery date, price and quantity, etc.). ) and restrictions (such as purchase restriction and preferential price purchase).
(5) Gold option
Option is the price agreed by the buyer and the seller in the future, and it has the right but no obligation to buy a certain number of targets. If the price trend is favorable to both buyers and sellers of options, they will exercise their rights and make profits. If the price trend is unfavorable to it, it will give up the right to buy, and only the cost of purchasing options at that time will be lost. At present, there are not many gold option markets in the world, because the investment tactics of gold option trading are numerous and complicated, and it is not easy to master.
(6) Gold stocks
The so-called gold stocks refer to listed or unlisted stocks issued by gold mining companies to the public, so they can also be called gold mining company stocks. Because buying and selling gold stocks is not only investing in gold mining companies, but also indirectly investing in gold, this investment behavior is more complicated than simply buying and selling gold or buying and selling stocks. Investors should not only pay attention to the operating conditions of gold mining companies, but also analyze the price trend of the gold market.
(7) Gold Fund
Gold fund is the abbreviation of gold investment mutual fund. The so-called gold investment mutual fund is a kind of mutual fund organized by fund sponsors, subscribed by investors, and managed by fund companies, which use gold or gold derivatives as investment media. It is managed by an investment committee composed of experts. The investment risk of gold fund is relatively small, and the income is relatively stable, which has the same characteristics as well-known securities investment funds.
The gold varieties to be invested should choose the most suitable products according to the current market situation and personal situation. More information about gold speculation/smile service