StoneX Trading Commodity Trading Customer Reviews & Expert Rating

StoneX Trading is a very good commodity broker, particularly if you want to trade gold, oil and other major commodities through CFDs or spread betting.

Commodities are also an area where the StoneX name actually means something. The wider StoneX Group has more than 100 years' experience in commodity markets, so this isn't simply a retail CFD broker that happens to have added gold and oil to its market list.

You can trade more than 20 commodities covering energy, precious and industrial metals and agricultural markets. There are both spot and futures-based markets, so you can choose between trading short-term moves or taking a longer-term view.

I've traded commodity-related markets on the platform before. When I tested City Index's options offering, for example, I bought $3,300 June gold calls after gold broke through $3,000. What I liked was that I could research gold, look at the chart, select the expiry and strike and put the trade on through the same platform.

That's broadly how I think StoneX Trading works best for commodities. You've got the market, research and trading tools together rather than having to use one service for commodity analysis and another to actually trade it.

StoneX also now offers a US Oil 7-Day market, which lets you trade crude oil through the weekend. That's fairly unusual and could be useful when geopolitical events happen on a Saturday or Sunday and you don't want to wait for the conventional market to reopen.

The main limitation is the same as when I reviewed City Index: this isn't DMA commodity futures trading. You are trading an OTC CFD or spread bet rather than placing orders directly onto CME, CBOT or NYMEX.

For most retail commodity traders that won't matter, but professional futures traders will want a different type of account.

Pricing

StoneX Trading offers competitive spreads on commodities and there are no rollover or expiry charges on its non-expiring spot commodity markets, although daily financing still applies.

That's quite an important distinction.

A traditional commodity futures contract has an expiry date, so if you want to maintain a position you eventually have to roll it into the next contract. StoneX's spot commodity markets are non-expiring and are priced using the underlying futures markets, giving you a continuous price instead.

However, you still pay daily financing, so non-expiring doesn't mean free to hold indefinitely.

For longer-term positions, StoneX also offers forward contracts without daily financing charges.

That's worth comparing if, for example, you have a six-month view on oil rather than trying to trade what happens to Brent this afternoon.

Spread betting is priced in pounds per point and profits are generally free from UK Capital Gains Tax, while commodity CFDs are traded in the underlying market currency. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and can change.

Market Access

StoneX Trading offers 20+ commodity markets covering energy, agricultural products and metals.

The main markets include US crude oil, UK crude oil and natural gas, alongside precious and industrial metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium and iron ore. Soft commodities include markets such as coffee, corn, cotton, soybean oil and wheat.

For most retail commodity traders, that's a decent range.

I particularly like having spot and futures-based markets available because they are useful for different types of trade.

If I'm trading a short-term breakout in gold, a spot market makes sense. If I've got a longer-term view based on supply, demand or geopolitics, I may prefer a futures-based contract where the cost of carry is reflected differently.

The US Oil 7-Day product also adds weekend trading on crude oil, which is interesting because oil is one of those markets where some of the biggest price-moving events can happen when the main markets are shut.

Again, though, these are OTC markets. If you specifically want direct access to exchange-traded commodity futures, StoneX Trading's retail account isn't designed for that.

Platform & Apps

You can trade commodities through StoneX Trading's Web Trader and mobile apps, while CFD traders can also use MT4.

The main platform is the one I'd use.

You get TradingView charting with 80+ indicators, alongside an in-platform Reuters news feed. That's particularly useful for commodities because prices can react very quickly to things like inventory data, weather, geopolitical events and unexpected changes in supply.

StoneX also reports an average execution speed of 0.002 seconds, with 99.99% of trades successfully executed.

As with indices, I think those execution stats are more relevant for commodities than they might be for longer-term investing. If you're trading oil around inventory numbers or gold immediately after a US inflation release, prices can move very quickly.

The mobile app is also good and won Best Trading App at the Good Money Guide Awards. It includes TradingView charts and Performance Analytics, so you can monitor and analyse commodity positions away from your desk.

That's how I tend to use trading apps myself: do the more detailed analysis on a proper screen and then use the app to monitor the trade rather than sitting in front of the platform all day.

Customer Service

Customer service becomes increasingly important as the size of your commodity trades increases.

Gold and oil can both move extremely quickly, particularly around economic announcements and geopolitical events, so if something goes wrong with your account you want to be able to get hold of the broker.

StoneX provides customer support and live chat alongside its trading platforms.

I also think the wider StoneX business gives it an advantage here. Commodities are a significant part of what StoneX does institutionally, rather than just another market category added to a retail trading app.

That doesn't necessarily make your CFD trade execute any better, but personally I'd rather trade a meaningful commodity position through a broker with genuine experience in those markets than choose one purely because its advertised gold spread is fractionally cheaper.

Research & Analysis

This is probably where StoneX Trading has the most interesting advantage for commodity traders.

Commodity markets are heavily influenced by supply and demand, inventories, weather, geopolitics, industrial demand and local production constraints. StoneX says its commodity research draws on its first-hand perspective of local supply forecasts and constraints.

That's potentially much more useful than generic technical analysis.

There is also regular research on markets such as crude oil, alongside the Reuters feed, economic calendar and TradingView charts.

For something like my gold trade, I'd want to combine both sides of that analysis. I might have a fundamental view on gold because of interest rates, inflation or geopolitical risk, but I'd still want to look at the chart to decide where to actually put the trade on.

Then there is Performance Analytics, which lets you analyse your trading behaviour afterwards.

That's useful with commodities because they can be very easy markets to chase. Oil jumps 5% because of something in the Middle East, gold breaks a big round number and suddenly everyone wants to trade it.

Performance Analytics can help answer the much more useful question: when I've done this before, have I actually made any money?

For me, the combination of StoneX's institutional commodity expertise, Reuters news and TradingView analysis before a trade, fast execution when you place it and Performance Analytics afterwards is the strongest part of its commodity offering.