On October 20th, gold reached an all-time high of almost $4400/oz. A price that is even more impressive if you consider the yellow metal began 2025 at just $2,658/oz. marking an almost 65% climb. To put that into perspective, that’s more than six times gold’s historic annual growth rate from 2000 to 2025.
The surge has largely been fuelled by geopolitical instability and market insecurity – from trade tensions and tariff wars to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown (at the time of writing) and the risk of recession in the world’s largest economies.
Then on October 21st, gold dropped 6.3% – its biggest weekly drop since 2013. Precious metal refiner MKS Pamp’s Head of Research Nicky Shiels noted that while every one of the asset’s technical metrics is overextended, such corrections are healthy in a bull market and often signal a longer-term continuation. Shortly after this necessary correction, Mr. Shiel believes gold’s price should consolidate and resume a more regular bullish trend.
Against this backdrop, we sat down with Johnny Khalil, Group Director of Trading & Liquidity, and Executive Director at Tickmill Europe, to understand the market conditions around gold, and to hear how Tickmill’s clients have been trading gold through one of its strongest and most dynamic rallies in years.
Interviewer: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us, Mr. Khalil.
J. Khalil: It’s an absolute pleasure, thank you for inviting me.
Interviewer: To start with, could you please tell me a little bit about yourself for our readers?
J. Khalil: Of course, I have been in the financial service industry for almost two decades, starting as a Foreign Exchange Trader. Since then, I have held numerous C-level executive positions, mainly as Head of Dealing. Today, I am Tickmill’s Group Director of Trading & Liquidity and Executive Director of Tickmill Europe.
Interviewer: That’s an impressive journey. So, it would be fair to say you know your way around a trading terminal?
J. Khalil: Yes, it definitely would. (Mr. Khalil responded jovially)
Interviewer: Great, let’s dive right into the topic at hand. Gold. How do you see it now? Has the October dip caused any panic-selling or other significant trends?
J. Khalil: Let’s actually start at the beginning, back in January, because this also contributed to the current price of gold. Since markets expected the new U.S. administration to be pro-business, they were relatively upbeat. Since then, though, markets have received the administration’s policies, especially the ones affecting international trade, with a little less enthusiasm. At the same time, in mid-October, we saw something interesting. When markets are unsure, they tend to seek out more stable assets, or at least those perceived as safe havens. Throughout Q3 this year, 51% of our clients trading gold held long positions, and 49% short. But during that period when the gold price spiked in October, this shifted to 73% of Tickmill clients taking long positions, with only 27% short.
Interviewer: Very interesting, so for a time, they were almost split down the middle, regarding which way they thought the gold price would move. Some seem to have thought that gold would go above $4400!
J. Khalil: Of course, we see a huge difference in risk profiles; some do not mind taking positions with more market exposure, while other clients prefer to err on the side of safety.
Interviewer: Is all of the information you are sharing focused on this bullish Q3 period for gold?
J. Khalil: Yes, that’s right. We also noticed that during that quarter, gold was our most traded asset. Our data shows that across those three months, our clients executed 13.9 million gold trades, totalling $342 billion in gold volume.
Interviewer: So what do you think fuelled this turn towards gold?
J. Khalil: First, as I mentioned before, the uncertain geopolitical and economic landscape was a large part of it. The other reason is probably because we offer some of the market’s most competitive conditions on gold, so we attract gold traders, and they tend to prefer us.
Interviewer: I imagine that a lot of these traders were veterans with relatively large accounts and a lot of capital at their disposal.
J. Khalil: Not necessarily. We attract a broad range of traders, from more sophisticated, professional traders to those with fewer years of experience behind them but still willing to capitalise on the markets.
Interviewer: That might surprise some readers.
J. Khalil: You’d think that, but if you consider that they have gold in their portfolio, you can also conclude that they prefer more stable assets. Newer traders often prefer these because they don’t move as quickly, even during volatility, and they also tend to hold their value better than other assets.
Interviewer: That makes sense! Thank you so much for your time today, Mr. Khalil. Is there anything else that you would like to add to conclude our chat?
J. Khalil: Thank you as well. It’s an exciting time in the markets, and gold continues to prove why it’s such an essential part of many trading portfolios. At Tickmill, we see that enthusiasm reflected in our own data, as gold traders clearly choose us for a reason. With spreads as low as 7 cents, commission of just $3 per side, and leverage up to 1:1000, we offer some of the most competitive trading conditions in the market. That combination gives clients more flexibility, lower costs, and tighter control – and their volumes show just how much they value those advantages.
About Tickmill
Tickmill has established itself as a leading provider of online trading services on a global scale since its inception in 2014. With regulation from leading regulatory authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles, and recognition from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) as a Representative Office, Tickmill prioritises the safety of client funds while upholding the highest standards of transparency and integrity.
Composed of seasoned traders with decades of collective experience dating back to the 1980s, the Tickmill team brings a wealth of expertise to the table, having navigated various major financial markets from Asia to North America.
For more information about Tickmill and its services, visit www.tickmill.com.
On October 20th, gold reached an all-time high of almost $4400/oz. A price that is even more impressive if you consider the yellow metal began 2025 at just $2,658/oz. marking an almost 65% climb. To put that into perspective, that’s more than six times gold’s historic annual growth rate from 2000 to 2025.
The surge has largely been fuelled by geopolitical instability and market insecurity – from trade tensions and tariff wars to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown (at the time of writing) and the risk of recession in the world’s largest economies.
Then on October 21st, gold dropped 6.3% – its biggest weekly drop since 2013. Precious metal refiner MKS Pamp’s Head of Research Nicky Shiels noted that while every one of the asset’s technical metrics is overextended, such corrections are healthy in a bull market and often signal a longer-term continuation. Shortly after this necessary correction, Mr. Shiel believes gold’s price should consolidate and resume a more regular bullish trend.
Against this backdrop, we sat down with Johnny Khalil, Group Director of Trading & Liquidity, and Executive Director at Tickmill Europe, to understand the market conditions around gold, and to hear how Tickmill’s clients have been trading gold through one of its strongest and most dynamic rallies in years.
Interviewer: Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to speak with us, Mr. Khalil.
J. Khalil: It’s an absolute pleasure, thank you for inviting me.
Interviewer: To start with, could you please tell me a little bit about yourself for our readers?
J. Khalil: Of course, I have been in the financial service industry for almost two decades, starting as a Foreign Exchange Trader. Since then, I have held numerous C-level executive positions, mainly as Head of Dealing. Today, I am Tickmill’s Group Director of Trading & Liquidity and Executive Director of Tickmill Europe.
Interviewer: That’s an impressive journey. So, it would be fair to say you know your way around a trading terminal?
J. Khalil: Yes, it definitely would. (Mr. Khalil responded jovially)
Interviewer: Great, let’s dive right into the topic at hand. Gold. How do you see it now? Has the October dip caused any panic-selling or other significant trends?
J. Khalil: Let’s actually start at the beginning, back in January, because this also contributed to the current price of gold. Since markets expected the new U.S. administration to be pro-business, they were relatively upbeat. Since then, though, markets have received the administration’s policies, especially the ones affecting international trade, with a little less enthusiasm. At the same time, in mid-October, we saw something interesting. When markets are unsure, they tend to seek out more stable assets, or at least those perceived as safe havens. Throughout Q3 this year, 51% of our clients trading gold held long positions, and 49% short. But during that period when the gold price spiked in October, this shifted to 73% of Tickmill clients taking long positions, with only 27% short.
Interviewer: Very interesting, so for a time, they were almost split down the middle, regarding which way they thought the gold price would move. Some seem to have thought that gold would go above $4400!
J. Khalil: Of course, we see a huge difference in risk profiles; some do not mind taking positions with more market exposure, while other clients prefer to err on the side of safety.
Interviewer: Is all of the information you are sharing focused on this bullish Q3 period for gold?
J. Khalil: Yes, that’s right. We also noticed that during that quarter, gold was our most traded asset. Our data shows that across those three months, our clients executed 13.9 million gold trades, totalling $342 billion in gold volume.
Interviewer: So what do you think fuelled this turn towards gold?
J. Khalil: First, as I mentioned before, the uncertain geopolitical and economic landscape was a large part of it. The other reason is probably because we offer some of the market’s most competitive conditions on gold, so we attract gold traders, and they tend to prefer us.
Interviewer: I imagine that a lot of these traders were veterans with relatively large accounts and a lot of capital at their disposal.
J. Khalil: Not necessarily. We attract a broad range of traders, from more sophisticated, professional traders to those with fewer years of experience behind them but still willing to capitalise on the markets.
Interviewer: That might surprise some readers.
J. Khalil: You’d think that, but if you consider that they have gold in their portfolio, you can also conclude that they prefer more stable assets. Newer traders often prefer these because they don’t move as quickly, even during volatility, and they also tend to hold their value better than other assets.
Interviewer: That makes sense! Thank you so much for your time today, Mr. Khalil. Is there anything else that you would like to add to conclude our chat?
J. Khalil: Thank you as well. It’s an exciting time in the markets, and gold continues to prove why it’s such an essential part of many trading portfolios. At Tickmill, we see that enthusiasm reflected in our own data, as gold traders clearly choose us for a reason. With spreads as low as 7 cents, commission of just $3 per side, and leverage up to 1:1000, we offer some of the most competitive trading conditions in the market. That combination gives clients more flexibility, lower costs, and tighter control – and their volumes show just how much they value those advantages.
About Tickmill
Tickmill has established itself as a leading provider of online trading services on a global scale since its inception in 2014. With regulation from leading regulatory authorities, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Seychelles, and recognition from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) as a Representative Office, Tickmill prioritises the safety of client funds while upholding the highest standards of transparency and integrity.
Composed of seasoned traders with decades of collective experience dating back to the 1980s, the Tickmill team brings a wealth of expertise to the table, having navigated various major financial markets from Asia to North America.
For more information about Tickmill and its services, visit www.tickmill.com.
