Where can I trade silver?
Verdict
- In Australia you can trade silver as a CFD with an ASIC-licensed provider such as Pepperstone, our pick, or own it through an exchange-traded fund or bullion; for active trading, a CFD account is the practical route.
- Pepperstone lists 40 commodity CFDs and places metals other than gold in a separate tier capped at 1:10 for retail clients, half the 1:20 it allows on gold.
- Our data holds no published silver spread for Pepperstone or any rival, so check the live XAG/USD quote in the platform before trading.
- Capital.com (AFSL 513393), our second choice, offers guaranteed stops, which Pepperstone does not.
'Where' depends on why you want silver. Traders who buy and sell within days or weeks need a CFD or futures account; savers who want silver for years are better served by an ETF or bars. Here are the routes available to someone living in Australia, and what a silver CFD at Pepperstone involves.
Silver CFDs at Pepperstone
Pepperstone Group Limited (ASIC, AFSL 414530) offers 40 commodity CFDs on its Standard and Razor accounts. Its leverage table groups metals other than gold together at 1:10 for retail clients, and professional clients get no more in Australia: the pro limit on those metals is also 1:10. You can trade on MT5, cTrader or the Pepperstone app with either account, or on MT4 and TradingView with Razor, funded from $10 by PayID, BPAY, card or PayPal.
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Three ways to hold silver from Australia
| Route | Leverage | Short selling | Ongoing cost | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CFD with an ASIC-licensed provider | Up to 1:10 retail at Pepperstone | Yes | Overnight financing | Active traders |
| Silver ETF through a stockbroker | None | Rarely practical | Fund management fee | Long-term investors |
| Physical bars or coins | None | No | Storage and insurance | Savers who want metal in hand |
Silver margin next to gold
- A$5,000 of silver at 1:10 needs A$500 of margin; the same amount of gold at 1:20 needs A$250.
- A 3% move on that A$5,000 silver position is A$150, or 30% of its margin.
- Because the pro limit on metals other than gold stays at 1:10, applying for professional status won't raise your silver leverage at Pepperstone.
- Gold has a 24/7 perpetual CFD at Pepperstone; silver isn't on its perpetual list, so silver positions stay exposed to weekend gaps.
Checks before your first silver trade
- Find the silver symbol in the platform's market watch and open its specification to see how many ounces one lot represents; silver lots are usually far larger in ounces than gold lots.
- Note the live spread at the hours you plan to trade, since our data has no published average to compare it with.
- Check the overnight financing rate for long and short positions.
- Set your stop knowing it can fill past its level; Pepperstone's stops aren't guaranteed.
Other ASIC-licensed providers
Capital.com (AFSL 513393) is our second choice, mainly for its guaranteed stops, and runs its own platform plus MT4, MT5 and TradingView from a $20 minimum. IG (AFSL 515106), CMC Markets (AFSL 238054) and Plus500 (AFSL 417727) also hold Australian licences. We hold no silver spreads for any of them, so the fairest comparison is the same quote, at the same moment, on each platform.
Sources
Leverage, instrument counts and funding details as published.
Can I trade silver in an AUD account?
Yes. Pepperstone offers AUD among six base currencies; silver's US-dollar result is converted into your account currency.
Can I trade silver at weekends?
Not at Pepperstone. Its 24/7 perpetual CFDs include gold but not silver.
How much do I need to start?
Pepperstone's minimum deposit is $10, but at 1:10 leverage a meaningful silver position needs far more margin than that.
Silver CFDs are complex, leveraged products and silver prices can be volatile, so you can lose money rapidly. Physical silver and ETFs can also fall in value. Read the PDS and TMD before trading; this page does not give investment advice.