Module 1: How commodity trading works · Lesson 3 of 9

Trading hours, rollovers and gaps

3 min read

Gold and oil CFDs do not trade around the clock: they follow set sessions with daily breaks and close at weekends. Some CFDs also roll from one futures contract to the next, and both breaks and rollovers can cause sudden price jumps called gaps.

Trading hours

Gold and oil CFDs typically trade from Sunday evening to Friday evening (in European time), with a short pause each day while the underlying market resets. Exact hours depend on the product and your broker, and they shift when daylight saving time changes in different countries. Public holidays can also mean shortened sessions or closures.

Liquidity, meaning how easily trades can be filled without moving the price, is usually best when major financial centres such as London and New York are open. Spreads often widen during quiet periods and around the daily break.

Rollovers

Many oil CFDs are based on futures, which expire each month. To keep the CFD running, the broker rolls it from the expiring contract to the next one. Because the two contracts usually trade at different prices, the chart may jump at rollover. Brokers normally make a cash adjustment to open positions so that the jump itself does not create a profit or loss, though a spread or fee may apply. Undated CFDs that track a spot price, which is common for gold, instead charge or pay overnight financing.

Example: Suppose an expiring oil contract trades at 80.00 and the next month trades at 80.60. At rollover your CFD price moves up 0.60. If you hold 100 barrels long, the broker might debit 60 dollars to offset the 60-dollar paper gain, leaving your real position unchanged. Figures are illustrative.

Gaps

A gap happens when the price opens noticeably away from where it last traded, with nothing in between. Common causes are:

Weekend news, such as political events or producer announcements.
Major data releases.
Reopening after the daily break or a holiday.

Gaps matter because a stop-loss order cannot be filled at a price that never traded. If the market gaps through your stop, it is filled at the next available price, which can be much worse.

Risk: Holding leveraged commodity positions over weekends or big announcements exposes you to gap risk, so your loss can exceed what your stop distance suggested.

Key takeaways

Commodity CFDs follow set hours with daily breaks and weekend closures.
Futures-based CFDs roll to the next contract, usually with a cash adjustment.
Gaps occur when price jumps between trades, often after weekends or news.
Stops can be filled at worse prices during gaps, so size positions with that in mind.

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Educational content only — not investment advice. Leveraged trading carries a high risk of loss.