Commodity trading in Australia: how to trade commodities in 2026

Ways to trade commodities in Australia

Australians have four practical ways to get commodity exposure, and they suit different goals.

• Commodity CFDs. Derivatives that track a commodity's price, traded through an ASIC-regulated broker with leverage. You never take delivery of any metal or barrel of oil. This is the route most active and short-term traders use, and it is the focus of this guide.
• Commodity ETFs. ASX-listed funds that track a commodity or a basket. Bought through a share broker, they suit long-term investors who want exposure without leverage or a CFD account.
• Commodity futures. Exchange-traded contracts for future delivery. These are mostly used by professional traders and by businesses hedging real production or consumption, and carry larger contract sizes than most retail accounts want.
• Resource shares. Equity in producers like BHP, Woodside or Newmont. These move with commodity prices but add company and operational risk on top.

If your goal is to trade price moves over hours or days, with leverage and the ability to go short, CFDs are the standard tool. If your goal is long-term exposure, an ETF or physical holding is usually the better fit and, as the tax section explains, often more tax-efficient.

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Which commodities you can trade

Commodity CFD coverage varies by broker, but the actively-traded set Australian retail traders reach for is fairly consistent.

• Precious metals: gold (XAU/USD), silver (XAG/USD), and on some brokers platinum and palladium. Gold is the single most-traded commodity and has its own gold trading guide.
• Energy: crude oil in both benchmarks (WTI and Brent) and natural gas. Energy is the most volatile corner of the commodity space and moves hard on inventory data and geopolitics.
• Base metals: copper is the common one, watched as a read on global industrial demand.
• Agriculturals: wheat, corn, coffee, sugar and cocoa on brokers that carry them. Coverage here is thinner and spreads are wider.

Most retail traders concentrate on gold and crude oil, where liquidity is deepest and spreads tightest. The further you go into base metals and softs, the wider the spreads and the thinner the liquidity, so check a broker's actual product list and spreads before committing to a niche commodity.

ASIC leverage caps differ by commodity

This is the detail that catches traders who assume one cap covers everything. ASIC does not apply a single commodity leverage cap. Gold sits in its own higher bracket, and everything else sits lower.

So gold lets you control a position with 5 percent margin, while oil, silver and the rest require 10 percent. The practical effect is that the same dollar of margin buys you twice the gold exposure it buys in oil. These caps are mandatory across every ASIC broker and exist to protect retail clients, so a broker advertising higher retail leverage on oil or silver is not operating under ASIC rules. Size every position against the correct cap using the position size calculator and margin calculator.

Best brokers for commodity trading in Australia

Commodities trade on the same accounts as forex, so the deciding factors are the same: tight spreads, reliable fills when a commodity gaps on news, and a platform that suits how you trade. The ranking below weights those, plus how wide each broker's commodity list is.

Commodities trade on the same accounts as forex. Commission is per standard lot, per side, on ECN accounts. Plus500 and AvaTrade use spread-based pricing with no separate commission. CFD Service. Your capital is at risk.

Pepperstone is the default for active commodity trading because tight spreads and dependable fills matter most when oil or gold moves fast, and it supports every major platform. Plus500 is worth a look if you want the broadest commodity menu, including softs and base metals, on one simple platform. FP Markets pairs ECN pricing with the widest multi-asset account. Fusion Markets is the cheapest on commission for high-frequency trading. AvaTrade offers a fixed-spread account that keeps the cost predictable through scheduled commodity data releases.

What commodity trading costs

Commodity CFD costs work the same way as forex, with the same three components.

• Spread. The buy/sell gap, paid on every trade. Tight on gold and oil at a good ECN broker, wider on silver, gas and softs where liquidity is thinner. Spreads widen around the scheduled data that moves each commodity, so execution quality counts.
• Commission. On ECN accounts, charged per side per lot (Fusion Markets AUD 2.25, FP Markets AUD 3.00, Pepperstone AUD 3.50). Spread-based brokers fold it into the spread instead.
• Overnight swap. Holding a leveraged commodity position past the daily rollover incurs a financing charge. Day traders who close before rollover avoid it. Swing traders pay it repeatedly, so check the swap rate before holding overnight.

The practical takeaway is the same as gold: a tight-spread ECN broker usually wins for frequent trading, and holding period feeds directly into your total cost through the overnight swap. Model your own numbers with the total cost of trading calculator.

What moves commodity prices

Every commodity has its own dominant driver, which is why most traders specialise rather than trade the whole complex. A few broad forces apply across the board.

• Supply and demand fundamentals. Production, inventories and consumption set the base. Oil reacts to OPEC decisions and US inventory data; gas reacts to storage and weather; metals react to mine supply and industrial demand.
• The US dollar. Most commodities are priced in US dollars, so dollar strength tends to weigh on commodity prices and dollar weakness tends to support them.
• Geopolitics. Energy and precious metals respond sharply to conflict and supply disruption, which is part of why oil and gold can gap on a headline.
• Weather and seasonality. Agricultural commodities and natural gas have strong seasonal and weather-driven patterns.

Gold is the exception worth calling out, because it trades as much on real interest rates and safe-haven demand as on physical supply and demand. The gold trading guide covers those drivers in detail. For Australian traders, there is also a currency layer: most commodity CFDs are priced in US dollars, so the AUD/USD rate affects the AUD value of a position.

How commodity trading is taxed in Australia

The tax outcome depends on how you hold the commodity, and the gap between the two routes is large.

• Commodity CFDs: profits are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal rate. Because a CFD is a cash-settled contract with no underlying asset, the 50 percent CGT discount does not apply. Losses are deductible against other assessable income in the same year. This is the same treatment as forex and other CFD trading.
• Commodity ETFs and physical metals: taxed under the capital gains tax regime, with the 50 percent CGT discount available on holdings of 12 months or more.

A short-term commodity CFD trader is taxed as a trader on ordinary income; a long-term ETF or bullion holder is taxed as an investor with the CGT discount available. Keep complete records of every position in AUD. The full framework with worked examples is in the forex and CFD tax Australia guide. None of this is tax advice; use a registered tax agent for your own situation.

How to start trading commodities in Australia

1. Pick a commodity and learn its drivers. Gold and crude oil are the usual starting points because they are liquid and well-documented. Trying to trade every commodity at once is a fast way to learn none of them.
2. Open a demo account. Trade your chosen commodity with no money at risk to see how it moves and how your platform handles fast markets.
3. Choose an ASIC-regulated broker. Verify the AFSL on the ASIC Connect register. For commodities, prioritise tight spreads and execution: Pepperstone and Fusion Markets are strong starting points, and Plus500 if you want the widest commodity range.
4. Size to the correct leverage cap. Remember gold is 20:1 and everything else is 10:1. Use the position size calculator and risk a fixed small percentage per trade.
5. Plan around data and rollover. Know when the data that moves your commodity lands, and check the overnight swap before holding a position past rollover.
6. Keep records and track your real, after-cost result, for tax and for an honest read on whether you have an edge.

For the deep dive on the most-traded commodity, see the gold trading guide. For the full broker field, see the best forex brokers and best CFD brokers rankings, and use the free trading calculators before placing a trade.

Frequently asked questions