Terms of use

Educational material only

The content on this site is educational material only. It is not advice, not a recommendation and not an offer to buy or sell any instrument. It is written to explain how gold (XAU/USD) contracts, margin and costs work, and it does not take your circumstances into account.

If you need advice on whether trading suits you, speak to a licensed financial adviser. The desk is not a broker, a bank or a licensed adviser, and it does not manage money or place trades for anyone.

The Affiliate Relationship Is Disclosed on Every Page Where It Exists

Some links on Vaal Rules are affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you open an account with a broker after following one. This is stated openly rather than buried, because a reader is entitled to know how a site earns money before acting on what it says. The commission does not change what you pay the broker and does not change the spreads, commissions or swaps on your account, because those are set by the broker's own terms and the entity that holds your account.

The affiliate relationship does not buy a broker favourable coverage. Where a page mentions that FxPro offers MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge, that is a statement of what the platform line-up consists of, not a ranking, and it is not a claim that the costs of trading there are better than anywhere else. We do not publish cost figures we were not given, and we do not describe a spread, commission or swap as cheap, tight or competitive when we cannot put a number to it. What a trade costs you depends on the instrument, the account type and the entity.

You are never obliged to use a link on this site, and doing so costs you nothing extra. If you prefer, open the broker's site directly and the relationship simply does not apply. The entity serving South African readers is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL, and FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa — check which entity your own account is opened with. That check matters more than any link on this page.

Limits of Liability in Plain Words

Vaal Rules is not liable for trading losses you incur. Gold trading with leverage can lose money quickly, and no part of this site transfers that risk to us. To the extent the law allows, we exclude liability for direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from your use of the information, including loss from errors, omissions or outdated figures. Your use of the site is at your own risk, and your only remedy if you are dissatisfied is to stop using it.

We do not warrant that the site is error-free, uninterrupted or current. Prices, margin examples and platform details can change without notice, and a figure that was correct when published may not be correct when you read it. We are not responsible for the content, terms or conduct of FxPro or any third party linked from this site. Any dispute about your account, funding or execution is between you and FxPro.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by South African law, including liability for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by negligence. Where a court finds part of this limitation unenforceable, the rest remains in force. This section is written to be read, not to obscure: the practical point is that you carry the market risk, and we carry responsibility only for publishing information in good faith.

Vaal Rules Publishes General Information on Gold Trading, Not Personal Financial Advice

Vaal Rules is an information site about trading gold (XAU/USD) and the mechanics around it, and it is not a financial adviser, portfolio manager or intermediary. Every page explains how instruments, margin, platforms and costs work in general terms. Nothing here takes your income, your existing positions, your tax position or your rand budget into account, because we do not collect that information. A general explanation of how a 0.10-lot gold position consumes about $85.50 in margin at 1:200 is education, not a recommendation that you open that position.

Every decision that follows from reading this site is yours, including whether to open an account, which platform to use and how much to fund. We do not tell you to buy or sell gold, we do not manage money, and we do not send trade signals or model portfolios. Where a page describes leverage of up to 1:200 for retail clients, that is a description of a cap a broker may apply, not a target to trade at. Position sizing, stop placement and how much of your capital sits in a single trade remain your judgement and your responsibility.

Information on this site is written to be accurate and sober, but it cannot account for the moment you read it. Reference prices such as the 4275.0 gold level used in examples are illustrations of arithmetic, not forecasts, and market conditions move between the time a page is updated and the time you trade. If you need advice tailored to your circumstances, consult a licensed financial services provider registered with the FSCA. Vaal Rules is a reading resource that helps you ask better questions of a broker, not a substitute for that provider.

Dated figures and affiliate links

Figures on this site are dated and must be verified with the broker before you rely on them. Leverage caps, funding methods and the entity serving South Africa can change after the date a page was checked. Confirm the current terms with the broker, and check which entity your own account is opened with, since FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa.

Some links on this site are affiliate links, which means the desk may earn a fee if you open an account through them. That fee does not change what you pay the broker. Once you click through, your relationship is with the broker under the broker's own terms, and any dispute is between you and that broker.

The Law That Applies to These Terms

These terms are governed by the laws of South Africa. If a dispute arises between you and Vaal Rules about the site, it will be dealt with under South African law, and the courts of South Africa will have jurisdiction. That applies regardless of where you access the site from, although nothing here prevents you from relying on mandatory consumer protections available in your own country of residence where those cannot be contracted out of.

The regulatory position of FxPro is separate from the law governing this site. FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa. Check which entity your own account is opened with, because the protections and the regulator that applies to your trading account depend on that entity, not on this website. Vaal Rules is not regulated by the FSCA and does not provide financial services.

Because the site is informational, the FSCA's conduct standards for financial services providers do not apply to how we write. They do apply to any licensed provider you deal with. If you are unsure which rules cover your account, ask FxPro in writing which entity holds your funds and which regulator supervises it. Keep that answer with your records. The law that applies to your trades is set by that entity and its licence, not by these terms.

The Affiliate Relationship in Full

Vaal Rules earns money through affiliate links. When you click a link to FxPro and open an account or fund it, we may receive a commission from FxPro. That payment does not increase the costs you pay and does not change the price you see. It is a marketing fee paid by the broker, and it is how this site is funded. We do not charge readers for access to the information here.

The commission does not buy influence over what we write. We do not rank brokers by payout, and we do not hide risks to make a link more attractive. Our editorial angle is a precise trading toolkit: we explain what a cost consists of, what margin depends on and where the limits of leverage sit. If a fact is not available to us, we say what it depends on instead of inventing a number. That standard applies whether or not a link is present.

You are never obliged to use our links. Opening an account directly with FxPro, or with any other firm, is your choice. If you do use a link, assume we benefit financially. That disclosure is intended to be complete, not buried. If you have questions about the relationship, treat this paragraph as the full statement: we are an affiliate, we are paid for referrals, and the trading risk remains entirely yours.

South African Law Governs These Terms and Any Dispute About This Site

The terms of use of Vaal Rules are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa, and any dispute about the site itself falls to the South African courts. That covers questions about the content we publish, the affiliate disclosure and these terms. It does not cover your trading account, which is governed by the client agreement you sign with the broker and by the rules of whichever entity holds that account, which is why checking the entity matters. FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa — check which entity your own account is opened with.

Reading this site does not create a client relationship, an advisory relationship or an intermediary relationship between you and Vaal Rules. We are not an authorised financial services provider acting on your behalf, and nothing on the site should be read as an offer of financial services. Where a page refers to the FSCA, it does so because that is the regulator South African readers recognise, not because Vaal Rules is licensed by it. Any regulated service you receive comes from a licensed provider, on that provider's terms.

If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable under South African law, that part is severed and the rest continues to apply. Where the terms conflict with a right you hold that cannot be waived, your right prevails. Practical questions about the site, including corrections to published content, can be raised through the contact route listed on the site, and we will deal with them under South African law rather than under the law of any other jurisdiction.

What Vaal Rules Provides and What It Does Not

Vaal Rules publishes general information about trading gold (XAU/USD) and using platforms such as MT4, MT5, cTrader and FxPro Edge. The content explains how instruments, margin and costs work in principle. It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any instrument. No output on this site is tailored to your circumstances, objectives or tolerance for loss, so treat every figure as an illustration rather than an instruction.

We do not manage money, place trades for you, hold client funds or act as a broker. Any account you open is with FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL, the entity that serves South Africa, and your contractual relationship is with that firm, not with Vaal Rules. Decisions about leverage, position size and funding rest with you. If you need personal advice, consult a licensed financial services provider registered with the FSCA.

The reference price shown, approximately 4275.0 for XAU/USD, and any margin figure such as $85.50 on a 0.10-lot position, are worked examples only. Live prices, costs and margin requirements change with the market and with the broker's terms. We do not guarantee that any example matches the price you will see on your platform. Verify all numbers directly with FxPro before you trade, and never rely on this site as a substitute for your own checks.

What You Agree to When You Use This Site

By using Vaal Rules you agree to use the information for your own lawful purposes and not to rely on it as a substitute for advice from a licensed provider. You agree that you are responsible for verifying prices, margin and costs with FxPro before trading. You also agree not to copy the content wholesale or present it as your own. These are ordinary conditions of use, and they apply whether you read one page or many.

You accept that trading gold on leverage can result in losses that exceed your initial margin, and that a margin figure such as $85.50 on a 0.10-lot position at 1:200 is an illustration of a requirement, not a cap on what you can lose. Leverage is a cap, not a setting to aim at. Funding in ZAR by local card, bank transfer or e-wallet does not change the market risk. Position size and stop placement are your decisions.

You agree that the terms are read together with the risk warnings already on this page and that no statement here guarantees a result. If any part of these terms is found invalid, the remainder stays in effect. Your continued use after a change means acceptance. If you do not accept these conditions, do not use the site. This paragraph is the plain-language summary of the agreement; the sections above set out the detail.

Risk of loss

CFDs on gold carry a high risk of loss and most retail accounts lose money. Leverage, which is capped at up to 1:200 for retail clients in South Africa and up to 1:500 only for eligible or professional clients depending on instrument, magnifies both gains and losses. A small move in the gold price can wipe out a large part of a position's margin.

A worked figure makes the point: at 1:200, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin, and that margin can be lost quickly if the market moves against the position. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose, and treat leverage as a cap rather than a setting to aim at.

What Vaal Rules Can and Cannot Be Held Responsible For

Vaal Rules is liable for nothing beyond publishing the words on the page. We do not execute trades, hold your funds, set your margin requirements or process your withdrawals, so we cannot be responsible for a loss, a rejected order, a platform outage, a funding delay or a change in a broker's terms. If a trade on gold (XAU/USD) moves against you, the loss sits with your account at your broker, not with this site. Your recourse for anything that happens on a trading account is with that broker and its regulator.

We also cannot guarantee that third-party content stays accurate. Broker terms, leverage caps, platform features and funding methods change, and a page that was correct when written may drift out of date. Figures such as the roughly $85.50 margin needed for a 0.10-lot position at 1:200 are worked examples that depend on the price and the leverage in force at the time, so treat them as illustrations of the arithmetic rather than as standing facts. Always confirm current terms with your broker before you rely on them.

To the extent the law allows, Vaal Rules excludes liability for indirect or consequential loss arising from use of this site, including lost profits or lost trading opportunities. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, and nothing here removes your rights under South African consumer law. If a link on this site takes you to a broker, that broker's own client agreement governs the relationship between the two of you, and it is the document that matters when something goes wrong.

Updated Terms Appear on This Page With the Revision Date Changed

Changes to these terms are published on this page, and the revised version replaces the previous one from the moment it goes live. We do not issue individual notices, so the page itself is the record. When a change affects how the site describes its affiliate relationship or the scope of its liability, the wording on this page is updated rather than added as a footnote elsewhere. If you want to know what you agreed to, read the version on this page on the date you use the site, since earlier versions are no longer in force.

We change these terms when the underlying facts change, not on a schedule. If a broker alters its platform line-up or the entity that serves South African readers, the affected wording is revised and the revision date moves. If the way the site earns money changes, the affiliate disclosure is rewritten rather than left standing. Because reference figures such as the margin on a 0.10-lot gold position depend on price and leverage, examples are reviewed when those inputs change rather than being treated as permanent.

Continuing to use Vaal Rules after a revision means you accept the terms as they then read. If you do not accept a revised version, the remedy is simple: stop using the site. Nothing on the site is behind a paid subscription, so there is no cancellation step and no notice period. We keep the language plain on purpose, so a reader in South Africa can see what changed without legal training, and we would rather publish a short accurate revision than a long one that obscures the change.

How Changes to These Terms Are Published

Changes to these terms are published on this page, and the revised version takes effect when it is posted. We do not send individual notices for every edit, so the current text on this page is the version that applies. If a change is material, we will make it clear in the wording itself rather than hiding it in a date. You should read this page again if you return to the site after a gap.

We may update the terms to reflect changes in the law, in how the site is funded, or in the facts we are able to state accurately. For example, if the affiliate relationship changes or if the regulator caveat for South Africa needs correction, the relevant section will be rewritten. We do not backdate changes, and we do not remove the risk warnings. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the revised terms.

If you do not agree with a change, your remedy is to stop using the site. We do not keep a public archive of every past version, so if a term matters to you, save or print the page on the date you rely on it. Questions about the current terms can be raised through the contact route on the site. Nothing in this section creates a right to notice beyond what is written here.