Gold as a Commodity: Futures and Options

Perhaps no other market in the world has the universal appeal of the gold market. For centuries, gold has been coveted and traded for its unique blend of rarity, beauty, and near indestructibility.

Nations have embraced gold as a store of wealth and a medium of international exchange; individuals have sought to possess gold as insurance against the day-to-day uncertainties of paper money. COMEX Division gold futures and options provide an important alternative to traditional means of investing in gold such as bullion, coins, and mining stocks.

The United States first assigned a formal monetary role for gold in 1792, when Congress put the nation's currency on a bimetallic standard, backing it with gold and silver. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, most nations were forced to severe their currency from gold in an attempt to stabilize their economies.

Gold formally reentered the world's monetary system in 1944, when the Bretton Woods agreement fixed all the world's paper currencies in relation to the U.S. dollar which in turn was tied to gold. The agreement was in force until 1971, when President Nixon effectively cancelled it by ending the convertibility of the dollar into gold.

Gold Trading Today

Today, gold prices float freely in accordance with supply and demand, responding quickly to political and economic events. A broad cross-section of companies in the gold industry, from mining companies to fabricators of finished products, can use the COMEX Division gold futures and options contracts to hedge their price risk. Furthermore, gold has traditionally had a role in investment strategies, and gold futures and options can be found in investors' portfolios.

More Information on Gold Trading

Edge Financial Group is registered and licensed as an Introducing Broker with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal regulatory agency of futures and options. We are also a member of the National Futures Association, a self-regulatory agency working with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Our firm is fully licensed.

Please call to speak with an account executive: 1.866.986.EDGE