Commodity Trading - Advantages and Disadvantages

What Is Commodity Trading?

Commodity futures markets allow commercial producers and commercial consumers to offset the risk of adverse future price movements in the commodities that they are selling or buying.

In order to work a futures contract must be standardized. They must have a standard size and grade, expire on a certain date and have a preset tick size. For example, corn futures trading at the Chicago Board of Trade are for 5000 bushels with a minimum tick size of 1/4cent/bushel ($12.50/contract).

A farmer may have a field of corn and in order to hedge against the possibility of corn prices dropping before the harvest he might sell corn futures. He has locked in the current price, if corn prices fall he makes a profit from the futures contracts to offset the loss on the actual corn. On the other hand, a consumer such as Kellogg may buy corn futures in order to protect against a rise in the cost of corn.

In order to facilitate a liquid market so that producers and consumers can freely buy and sell contracts , exchanges encourage speculators. The speculators objective is to make a profit from taking on the risk of price fluctuation that the commercial users do not want. The rewards for speculators can be very large precisely because there is a substantial risk of loss.

Advantages of commodity trading

Leverage. Commodity futures operate on margin, meaning that to take a position only a fraction of the total value needs to be available in cash in the trading account.

Commission Costs. It is a lot cheaper to buy/sell one futures contract than to buy/sell the underlying instrument. For example, one full size S&P500 contract is currently worth in excess off $250,000 and could be bought/sold for as little as $20. The expense of buying/selling $250,000 could be $2,500+.

Liquidity. The involvement of speculators means that futures contracts are reasonably liquid. However, how liquid depends on the actual contract being traded. Electronically traded contracts, such as the e-mini's tend to be the most liquid whereas the pit traded commodities like corn, orange juice etc are not so readily available to the retail trader and are more expensive to trade in terms of commission and spread.

Ability to go short. Futures contracts can be sold as easily as they are bought enabling a speculator to profit from falling markets as well as rising ones. There is no 'uptick rule' for example like there is with stocks.

No 'Time Decay'. Options suffer from time decay because the closer they come to expiry the less time there is for the option to come into the money. Commodity futures do not suffer from this as they are not anticipating a particular strike price at expiry.

Disadvantages of commodity trading

Leverage. Can be a double edged sword. Low margin requirements can encourage poor money management, leading to excessive risk taking. Not only are profits enhanced but so are losses!

Speed of trading. Traditionally commodities are pit traded and in order to trade a speculator would need to contact a broker by telephone to place the order who then transmits that order to the pit to be executed. Once the trade is filled the pit trader informs the broker who then then informs his client. This can take some take and the risk of slippage occurring can be high. Online futures trading can help to reduce this time by providing the client with a direct link to an electronic exchange.

You might find a truck of corn on your doorstep! Actually, most futures contracts are not deliverable and are cash settled at expiry. However some, like corn, are deliverable although you will get plenty of warning and opportunity to close out a position before the truck turns up.

Tim Wreford operates Online Futures Trading, a website that provides information and resources for traders. Tim also provides an article detailing the development of a day trading system, the results of which are updated daily on the site.

MORE RESOURCES

     Large inventory of office cubicle and partitions walls for sale in Northeast Ohio

     Find home remodeling contractors Akron Ohio

RELATED ARTICLES Risk and Stock Trading Fees: The Two Barriers To Overcome If You Want A Successful Trading Career. You know the old joke:" How do you make a million in the stock market? Start with two million?" There is no way around it, risk and stock market fees are a part of trading that you can't avoid. But, you can manage your risk. Your Mother Could Make Money In Forex Trading The question would be not whether she could but rather would she enter the Forex trading market. The Forex day trading arena is a veritable snake pit ripe for scam artists to bilk money out of unwary investors. Online Forex Q1: When you consider that the foreign exchange market has become the world's largest financial market, with over $1.5 trillion USD traded daily, where does it go from here?A1:The FX market is unique, in the UK there is no central exchange, we trade via the inter bank market. How To Choose Wisely A FOREX Broker Most traders use a FOREX broker to handle their transactions. What exactly are brokers? Strictly speaking, brokers are individuals or companies that buy and sell orders according the investor's decisions. Online Stock Trading: Freedom of Trade I remember the first time I started to trade online. It was just before the tech bubble of the late 1990's and the internet was still something new for most people. Don't Deny Reality If you want to be a successful trader, you must make sure you do not deny reality in any phase of your trading. You cannot deny losses, price direction, mistakes you make, being undercapitalized, or a whole host of things you would rather not think about. Creativity in Trading "Is it important to be creative in your trading?" I'm not sure I can describe it in terms of importance. The creative process is somewhat of a mystery, even to scientists who study it. The Secrets of the Super-Traders The first and perhaps most important "secret" is to realize that your methodology or approach (no matter how good) is only part of being a highly successful trader. This applies to any trading style including, day trading, swing trading or position trading. What I Learnt Losing £60,000 My First Year as a Full-time Trader During my first year as a local (independent trader) on the floor of LIFFE, I bought and sold 8804 FTSE futures contracts, about 40 contracts per day on average. The result was a loss of £61,620 or -£267 per trading day. Writing A Trading Plan All professional traders have a trading plan. Trading futures is a zero sum game and those with a plan (and the discipline to apply it) will succeed over those that have no plan. How To Handle A String Of Losses Everybody hates to lose and unfortunately no one is blessed with the ability of foresight, therefore losses are an unavoidable part of trading. When we enter a trade we will either be right, or wrong, and even if we broke-even we'd still be classed as being wrong - as nobody enters into a trade just to break-even! When unsuccessful traders encounter a string of losses they begin to engage in self-destructive patterns that help them escape the pain they are experiencing. Forex Brokers - Helping to Maximize Your Success A Forex broker is a broker dealing in foreign exchange, just like real estate broker who deals in real estate and properties. Simply, a Forex broker is an advisor who advises you about the forex market. 10 Steps To Professional Day Trading Everyone trades a little differently. The trading method outlined below is MY personal approach to trading. Momentum Trading: A Practical Day Trading Strategy to Get Profits from Hot Stocks Momentum day trading can be extremely profitable when done correctly.. The Major Players in the Foreign Currency Exchange Market - FOREX Since the US dollar is the centerpiece of the market, it is normally considered the 'base' currency for quotes. In the "Majors", this includes USD/JPY, USD/CHF and USD/CAD. Choosing A Forex Broker With currency trading becoming ever more popular, the number of brokers is growing at a rapid rate. What should one look at when deciding which broker to open an account with? These are the important points to consider. Assessing the Opportunities Presented by the New Iraqi Currency Could it be possible that you are staring right into the most spectacular financial opportunity of the century? Operation: Iraqi Freedom will undoubtedly be a war marked in history for loss and tragedy, American victory, and the rise of a nation with a new democratic government. But could it also be a war historically remembered for the financial opportunity it created for the sharp investors who keenly recognized an ephemeral chance at the right time?The War on Iraq ended with a nation placed on the footstool of many new operations. Day Trading the Index Futures - How to Judge Good Entries QUESTION: If the SP futures fall through support and go straight down for another two points, and I want to get short, should I a.) enter immediately, b. Forex Broker A broker is any person or firm that charges a fee in exchange for executing trades for a trader. A Forex broker does not charge a commission for placing a buy or a sell order the way a real estate broker would charge a percentage fee of the total price of a sale. 5 Questions You Need To Have Answered Before You Back-Test Your Forex System As 90-95% of new forex traders lose money within the first 3-6 months this article helps to guide new forex traders by asking 5 questions that the forex trader needs to know prior to back-testing their forex system.Let us jump right in.

Click here to   Find used office equipment in Ohio at www.OfficeJax.Has.It www.Akron.Has.It Find the best fleamarkets at www.FleaMarketWorld.Has.It Find electric powered vehicles at www.NoGas.Drives.It Flea Market World Free Automatic Link Exchange Akron City directory Find homes for rent in Akron Ohio www.homes4rent.has.it Anonymous and Confidential U.S. Mail Drops - No ID Required reship worldwide

Click here to Free one way backlink

[Back to Top]   auction news and listings for Akron, Ohio Akron crafts and hobby news center Akron Ohio pet news Advertising and promotions Akron, Ohio The Akron blogging news center Akron Ohio web site design news best tips and home remedies Akron Mortgaging and refinancing Akron currency trading

Home | Site Map © 2012 - 2022 All Rights Reserved

currency trading forex currency trading online currency trading foreign currency trading currency forex learn online trading currency forex online trading currency day trading currency trading system forex currency trading system currency privateforextrader.com trading currency exchange trading e currency trading currency foreign privateforextrader.com trading book on currency trading currency trading broker currency trading software day trading forex currency currency ireland trading online currency trading system currency future trading day trading for the currency market online foreign currency trading fx currency trading forex currency trading beginner forex training course currency trading currency day system trading currency trading course 4x currency trading currency trading tutorial currency trading information foreign currency exchange trading currency global in market trading started in currency trading commodity  currency trading trading the global currency market international currency trading course in currency trading automated currency system trading foreign currency trading software currency trading strategy currency forex learn trading currency make money trading currency trading signal currency option trading currency forex market trading currency trading made easy chart currency trading currency trading  tip currency foreign forex trading currency demo trading currency trading forex spot rate learn currency trading basics currency trading currency trading for beginner forex currency trading broker currency electronic trading currency game trading currency exchange foreign  forex trading interbank currency trading practice currency trading currency forex fx software software software trading free trading currency guide tool online currency forex trading currency news trading best currency system trading currency trading account currency currency forex forex learn online online trading online currency trading strategy currency trading platform currency forex learn online online trading trading currency trading training company currency exchange foreign trading company currency forex trading currency euro trading currency forex trader trading automated currency trading currency foreign system trading currency market trading currency option trading system currency trading seminar business currency currency home internet trading trading canada currency trading spot currency trading currency exchange rate trading currency forex pair trading using vantagepoint currency network neural trading boards currency forex trading how to start currency trading currency trading australia currency forex tag trading currency forex trade trading currency insurance trading currency trading education live currency trading online currency option trading advisor currency expert trading, commodity currency future trading currency day foreign trading currency exchange link trading credit currency trading