gold future players are having a ball by all reports, at us$1300 per comex gold contract. if you believe gold is going much higher or volatility is your thing.. then futures is the go.. there is a healthy degree of volatility trading if one of your plans surrounds trading the short swings.. $5 move in gold, yields us$500 per contract, your risking us$1300, so that's a ~27% return on margin... there are of course maintenance fees, if you hold onto your investment for longer, but that's another chapter..with futures, you have the leverage required and there is no time decay..just trade the thing on its merits..i.b is robust.. our main producers will continue to sell contracts into any rally to offset the aud differential, they're big players.. aus gold companies are in a difficult situation, so if gold trading is your thing, then trading the gold market online will potentially yield you better returns rather than aus gold companies... the aud has alot more to go up, so it makes sense that trading the physical is better... im not an advisor, always do your own research.
