Beginner's Must-Read: The Complete Guide to Gold Buying and Selling Strategies in 2025

Why Should You Focus on Gold Investment Now?

Gold prices continue to hit new records, surpassing $4,300 per ounce as of October 2025. Against the backdrop of global economic uncertainties and increased stock market volatility, more young investors are seriously considering gold’s role in asset allocation.

To truly master gold trading methods, you must first understand the core value of gold as an investment asset. In simple terms, gold has three main characteristics: first, it is a tangible asset and a globally recognized precious metal that does not depreciate due to policy changes; second, when stocks and cryptocurrencies experience sharp fluctuations, gold often rises countercyclically, serving as a natural hedge; third, gold’s supply is limited, and its scarcity determines its long-term value preservation ability.

The Relationship Between Gold and Inflation

Prices continue to rise, but wages grow slowly—this is a reality modern investors can feel. After the pandemic outbreak, countries printed大量貨幣 to stimulate their economies. In early 2020, gold was about $1,500, and by November 2025, it soared over $4,000, an increase of over 165%. This fully demonstrates that gold indeed has anti-inflation properties.

Gold as a Safe-Haven Asset

Many investment recommendations allocate 5%-15% of assets in gold. When the Russia-Ukraine war broke out and Trump implemented tariffs, uncertainty surged, and gold prices hit new highs. This is no coincidence—throughout history, whenever political or economic turmoil occurs, people flock to gold.

However, it is important to recognize that gold’s value preservation is not linear. Historical data from the past fifty years shows that gold has only experienced two significant bull markets, with most other periods being flat. In contrast, stock markets during the same period experienced several crashes, but gold prices remained relatively stable.

What Are the Six Methods of Buying and Selling Gold?

For investors with different risk tolerances and capital scales, gold offers a variety of trading methods.

1. Physical Gold——The Traditional Choice

Directly purchasing gold bars, coins, or jewelry can be done through banks, jewelry stores, or pawnshops. The biggest advantage of this method is strong psychological security—holding physical assets provides a sense of reassurance.

However, physical gold also has obvious disadvantages: higher prices, not friendly to small investors; storage requires additional security costs; liquidity is poor, making quick cash difficult; and when selling, you may face discounts (jewelry like gold necklaces may fetch lower prices).

Buying Tips: Prioritize gold bars and coins, and be sure to check brand, weight (99.99% purity), quality, certificates, and merchant reputation. Avoid buying jewelry for investment purposes.

2. Gold Savings Account——Bank’s Paper Gold Scheme

Gold savings accounts (paper gold) are recorded via bank passbooks, with prices linked to spot gold prices. Investors can exchange them for physical gold at any time, but once converted to physical gold, the account cannot be maintained as a passbook.

The advantage of this method is low transaction thresholds (starting from 1 gram), no account opening fees, and no worries about gold storage. However, transaction costs are relatively high, and there is no interest income—profits are made only through buying low and selling high, making it unsuitable for short-term trading.

3. Gold ETFs——The Best Method for Beginners

Gold ETFs are funds listed on stock exchanges, with most of their capital invested in gold assets. Trading is similar to stocks. The largest global gold ETF is SPDR Gold Shares (GLD.US), and in Taiwan stock market, there is the期元大S&P黃金反1 ETF (00674R.TW).

Gold ETFs are characterized by low investment thresholds, relatively low fees, and easy operation, making them very suitable for beginners. In 2024, the average daily trading volume of gold was $227 billion, ranking second only to the S&P 500, proving that gold trading has become a mainstream asset class.

However, note that trading is limited to market hours (stock trading hours), and the fund company handles operations, charging management and transaction fees.

4. Gold Mining Stocks——Indirect Participation in the Gold Industry

You can buy stocks of companies engaged in gold mining, such as Barrick Gold (ABX.US), Newmont Mining (NEM.US), Goldcorp (GG.US), etc. The advantage of this method is low investment threshold, convenient trading, and low transaction fees.

But the performance of mining stocks is affected by company management, shareholder structure, geopolitical risks, and other factors, with a higher deviation from gold prices, making it less pure.

5. Gold Futures——Tools for Professional Traders

Gold futures are derivatives traded on exchanges, originating in the US. The standard contract is 100 ounces, and although micro gold futures options are now available, the minimum still requires a few hundred dollars to start.

Futures offer leverage, high capital utilization, T+0 trading (day trading), and the ability to go long or short. But they also have obvious drawbacks: contracts have expiration dates, requiring closing or rolling over within the period; trading rules are complex; entry barriers are high; leverage can magnify losses.

Beginners should exercise caution when entering the futures market unless they have sufficient trading experience and risk management skills.

6. Gold CFDs——Flexible and Efficient Trading Method

Contracts for Difference (CFD) track spot gold prices and are usually traded through forex brokers, with the underlying asset being XAUUSD. Compared to futures, gold CFDs have the advantages of simple rules, low minimum (0.01 lot), no expiration date, no rollover, and T+0 two-way trading.

The most important point is that if you understand how to trade stocks, you can easily learn to operate gold CFDs. Many trading platforms also support trading gold, forex, stocks, and cryptocurrencies within a single account.

But beware of leverage risks—leverage can amplify both gains and losses. Beginners should start with small amounts and low leverage to build trading experience gradually.

Gold Futures vs. Gold CFDs: A Comparison of Trading Methods

Practical Tips for Gold Trading Operations

Analyzing Key Factors in the Gold Market

Predicting short-term gold trends is indeed difficult, but you can gain deeper market insights through various indicators. Main points include:

Macroeconomic Indicators: Inflation rate, central bank policies, interest rate trends, and the strength of the US dollar all directly influence gold prices. When interest rates rise and the dollar appreciates, gold usually faces downward pressure; conversely, it is favored when these factors weaken.

Market Sentiment: When risk aversion increases, investors flock to gold. Sharp stock market fluctuations and geopolitical tensions also boost gold demand.

Technical Analysis: You can refer to gold sector indicators, gold-silver ratio (the price ratio of gold to silver), and gold-oil ratio (the price ratio of gold to crude oil) to assess gold’s relative value.

Understanding Gold’s “Rhythm”

Historical observations suggest that gold experiences roughly a 10-year bull market cycle, followed by several years of correction. This periodicity is closely related to economic conditions, the US dollar’s strength, interest rate trends, and global risk sentiment.

Some studies propose a “super cycle” concept—when major changes occur in the global economic structure (such as rapid rise of emerging markets or surging resource demand), gold may undergo continuous bull markets lasting over a decade. This indicates that despite short-term price volatility, long-term trends are discernible.

Choosing the Right Trading Method for Yourself

For small investors, gold savings accounts and gold ETFs are the most friendly entry options. For more flexible trading, consider gold CFDs, especially for swing trading. Regardless of the method chosen, it is recommended to practice with demo accounts first to reduce the risk of actual losses.

When using leverage, always set take-profit, stop-loss, and trailing stop tools for risk control. Even with micro contracts (0.01 lot), you can experience real trading environments with low capital investment.

Summary: A Guide to Choosing Gold Trading Methods

The value of gold lies not in short-term price differences but in long-term asset protection. Different investors should select trading methods based on their capital scale, risk preferences, and trading time:

• Risk-averse: Physical gold or gold savings accounts
• Beginners: Gold ETFs
• Swing traders: Gold CFDs or futures
• Industry researchers: Gold mining stocks

Remember, no matter which method you choose, do not be scared by short-term fluctuations. As long as you observe the US dollar, interest rates, and risk sentiment, you can roughly judge whether gold is entering the next upward cycle.

Since 2024, gold has increased by over 104%, and the logic behind this rally has not disappeared—global economic uncertainties still exist. For investors seeking to protect assets and diversify risks, gold remains an indispensable option.