Contract for differences (CFDs) are contracts that are tradable between clients and a broker.  When trading a CFD, there is an exchange of the difference in value (current value and value at the end of the contract) of a certain instrument.

These can be CFD shares, indices, commodities, currencies, treasuries, precious metals etc.

One of the biggest advantages of trading CFDs is that traders may speculate on price movements without the need to physically own the underlying assets. Traders will usually buy or sell a number of units depending on whether they think that the price of the financial instrument will increase or decrease.