Commodity Trading

The economic downturn has many people worried about recession, and inflation rates seem to be rising every other week. In light of such uncertain times, have you ever wondered if investing your hard earned dollars into the stock market is the prudent thing to do? Or are you already considering alternative forms of investment? If so, consider online commodity trading, because depending on your knowledge, risk appetite, and the commodities you choose, you have the potential to earn big returns on your investment.

But if you’re a greenhorn at the commodity market, or even at trading for that matter, you might be wondering what commodities trading is all about. Commodities trading is where traders trade contracts for goods, and not for the goods themselves; goods such as food like corn or malt, or metals like gold and silver. The traders don’t have to deliver the goods to some end-consumer at the end of the day, because they don’t have the goods to begin with, and most likely never will have them. A trader would instead buy a contract if he thought that the price for a commodity would be going up in the future. He would then sell the contract if he thought the price would depreciate. Think of it as a kind of insurance plan for the traders and investors; regardless of price fluctuations, both the buyer and the seller are guaranteed the price stated in the contract at the time of trade. Just like any business transaction, there is always a buyer and seller in every trade made, but neither the buyer or the seller is required to own a particular commodity in order for the trade to happen. The only thing that a trader has to do is to deposit enough capital with a brokerage firm to ensure that he would be able to pay for his losses if his trade loses money. This is known as commodity futures trading.

So now that the concept of commodities trading is out of the way, why trade online?

Online commodities trading involves the transmission of orders by customers to either buy or sell a commodity to a commodity exchange via an electronic marketplace. Unlike the traditional offline method of trading, no brokers are required to represent customers. However, having an online broker would cost you less commissions-wise than if you were to have a full-service broker. As such, you stand to be more profitable on your trades than if you were to trade offline.

Trading commodities online also provides you with almost everything you need the moment you log into your trading account. Most online brokers are equipped with real time information, ranging from futures news, price quotes, charts, technical analysis programs, and other research material that are made available for their clients. As such, those who wish to embark on online trading on their own are able to make more informed decisions when trading because the same tools have been made available for them online.

However, despite the apparent advantages of trading commodities online, one would also have to be aware of the pitfalls that are associated with online commodities trading.

For one thing, because you have the freedom to make your own trades online, there is no one watching over your shoulder to guide you along with your trades. Inexperienced traders usually lose money this way, because they think that the tools made available to them through trading online make great substitutes for experience. The fact is that nothing can substitute experience, and having an experienced broker by your side would most likely help you avoid such losses. Treat the broker as a mentor if you’re just starting out; learn by asking questions and having them answered within minutes instead of spending hours or days researching on your own.

Another issue to take note of is over trading. The temptation to be swayed from one’s original plan of holding trades for a period of time rather than ‘capitalizing’ on small breaks in the market trend are usually the cause of traders losing a sum of money, most often the considerable portion of it is by way of commissions. Even though commissions on every trade may be cheap, every commission compounds to every trade made; worse still if the trade results in a loss. So while it might be a good idea to seize a good opportunity when you see one, make sure you have a plan tailored for every trade you intend on making, instead of changing your strategies blindly just because you’re lured by the possibility of making a quick buck.

While online commodities trading may seem like a prudent investment option in these uncertain times, it requires discipline, the right mindset, and a sound trading plan in order for you to succeed in it. For beginners, the best way to trade commodities is through an online broker.

Author: Marcus Walker
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Online commodity trading newsletters provide information about all areas related to the trade. They are one of the best options open to investors to understand and analyze the ever-changing scenario of the commodity market. The purpose of these newsletters is to present ideas and articles about trading. The newsletters contain articles about the market indicators, trading system design, money management methods, and technical tools for trading. For receiving newsletters on commodity trading online, an individual has to provide his name and email address to the company from whom he wishes to order. In some cases, no subscription fee is required to be paid.

Companies offering online commodity trading newsletters observe pricing relationships in the international market including intra-commodity spreads (calendar spreads), inter-commodity spreads (spreads between correlated commodities), geographical price relationships, etc. They also provide analysis of the behavior of a price series during a given time gap. Some of these newsletters concentrate on different aspects of the commodity market on different days of the week. Price fluctuations, which are an everyday feature of the commodity market, can be well understood with the help of newsletters. The newsletters spot trading and hedging opportunities by alternately applying fundamental and technical strategies. They assimilate a vast array of information about the market and present it in a concise format. These newsletters cater to all types of investors from speculators to end-users.

Commodity trading newsletters are mainly designed to provide clients the benefits of a reliable range of reports that contain a plan of action on how to approach each trading day. They provide an analysis, which illustrates key supply-and-demand factors that drive commodity prices and also present long-range price forecasts. The information is available in an easy to read format so that even beginners know how to go about trading in the commodity market. Newsletters also provide various buy and sell recommendations. Hence, online commodity trading newsletters are a guide for investors who trade in the market by helping them decide which investments are profitable and which are risky.

Author: Jason Gluckman
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So many times I hear clients when in a draw down say,”There are changes going on in commodity trading and trend following.” The commodity markets are changing. They are not like what they used to be. Trend following is dead. This draw down proves trend following is dead.

Well I will give you my 15 years plus of experience and counter these thoughts. First of all, nothing ever changes. You need to really know what trend following is, what causes it. Not trying to be funny, but commodity trading has been going on since the times of Joseph in Egypt selling wheat. If you read your bible, he cornered the wheat market and there was a trend in wheat. The price went up. There will always be shortages, panics, fears and hedgers and for this reason there will be trends. One can look back at charts from the 1800s and look at wheat or even cotton. What do you think happened to the price of cotton during the US civil war. Do you I need to remind you what happened to crude in the first gulf war. Human nature never changes…fear and greed don’t ever seem to change…so there are trends. If you want to consider making money in commodities one of the ways I feel most strongly about is trend following. No predicting…just reacting and trying to catch a trend or as a surfer tries to catch a wave. Not too much different.

Now if you believe there are trends, then you need to realize they do not happen when we want them. There can be years at a time…NOTHING HAPPENS. At this point most non professional investors give up and claim trend following is dead and commodity trading advisors stink. Well, so many times after this trend following comes back from the dead and commodity trading advisors hit new record trading peaks. This brings me back to my holy grail word “PATIENCE”. If you can be patient, disciplined, have a sound trading methodology based on risk management and money management, you stand the potential overtime to grind out some decent returns.

Next thought… again those same inexperienced commodity traders say, “The commodity markets are changing. I need to change my system or my methodology.” Again with years of experience watching what has the chance to work and seeing all that did not. The only things that can work over time are simple ideas based on with strong risk and money management.

To give you example, Richard Donchian used a very simple idea. Buy the 22 day high…sell the 14 day low. This is the basis… not too complicated, but needs more risk and money management filters. Not sure if it was John Henry from JWH or Dunn Capital…either of them stated all rules of our system can be written on the back of an envelope. Pretty funny since both at them at various points of their careers were managing in excess of $1 Billion US Dollars. If you want to be a winner in the commodity trading arena realize this takes time, discipline and patience. This is not a get rich quick. This is a compound your way to wealth if you follow the rules of risk management & money management. All of this is easy to say, but when you are down either in your trading account or when your commodity trading advisor is down 20% or greater and you want to quit, Remember: Do you want to be a winner or a loser.

Understand exactly how your mechanical trading system works. Don’t think you will buy a black box and make money. Ask questions to your commodity trading advisor… what gets you in a trade..out of a trade… with a loss or a profit.. How much risk per trade.. how much risk per sector… how much portfolio open trade risk…or margin to equity. If you do not do your homework ahead of time, don’t even think about commodity trading. These are the hard truths about commodity trading. This is not easy. Futures and commodity trading involve substantial risk. People can and do lose money trading.

Author: Andrew Abraham
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One of the biggest differences in trading is that many successful commodity trading advisors use trend following mechanical systems. Of course there are other commodity trading advisors that use pattern recognition …counter trend as well as basic fundamental analysis to base their decisions. However in my opinion, when a commodity futures trader uses a mechanical trend following system they put themselves in a position to capture rare large moves. The success of commodity trading comes from capturing these rare large moves with proper risk management. This is the key to compound money over long periods of time.

Trend Following trading advisors over the years have programmed their ideas into mechanical systems that detail trade potentials (entry and exit) as well as position sizing. There is no real thinking. Trend Following commodity trading advisors are looking for price to move. They do not predict, rather react. The goal is to catch a new trend. Commodity trading advisors look to take pieces out of the trend. Only liars catch bottoms and tops. There is no holy grail in trend following unlike buy and hold (pray). It all boils down to making yourself available for those rare large moves (not losing too much money when they are not occurring).

Virtually everything is pre thought out with an exact plan (yes an exact plan with successful Commodity trading advisors). The markets trade are thought out. The amount of correlation between similar markets are planned. Risk per trade is planned. What constitutes an entry signal.. How to exit a trade with a profit as well as a loss. What is the total open trade equity that is acceptable. This is like a well trained army or football team. Everyone knows what to do. There is no gut thinking.. I will x number of contracts today because I think this or that.. With successful commodity trading advisors, what will make them buy is that there is a price move beyond a certain threshold that in their model possibly signifies a beginning of a potential trend. The successful commodity trader asks himself/herself.. how much is this going to cost me to see if this trade works. Commodity trend followers know that any trade is 50/50. There is nothing about being right. It is very simply…the trade is going to work or not..If there is a trend..it is working.. Pretty simple and clear. The huge difference between successful commodity futures traders and others is in their trend following mechanical system there is not just focus on entering …but rather ..how many contracts can I put on for my predetermined risk tolerance.. (R). Successful trend followers know it does not matter to be right..actually, most trades don’t work. Lets say the win/loss ratio can be 30% wins and 70% and the commodity trading advisor can be extremely successful Simple.. small losses..rare..large gains.. and position sizing (when the trade works..if the commodity trading advisor has numerous contracts based on his/her risk model). Look at it this way..lets say the JY goes from 100 to 108 and you have 1 contract…you make x.. but for the same risk per trade you were able to put on 2 contracts for the same risk..you have made much more money. Forget about all the nonsense of snake oil advertisements like 80% winners. It is the surest way to be a loser.

There are key questions the trend following mechanical system needs to answer

1. Which markets to trade based on my equity
2. What signifies a buy or sell
3. How do exit with a profit or a loss
4. How many contracts do you put on..(risk per trade.. risk per sector..total open trade risk)

Of course there are other issues..More so don’t think for one minute this is easy.. Even when you have a trend following mechanical system or a commodity trading advisor you need the discipline and patience to follow the system/commodity trading advisor for at least 4-5 years.. Otherwise really don’t start.. I have seen more people quit at the first sign of a draw down and run to another system or commodity trading advisor. More so.. keep it simple..but not simpler..

Author: Andrew Abraham
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Online commodity trading advisors can be individuals or organizations that advise people on buying or selling commodities. They are registered with the Commodity Futures Training Commission. Registration for commodity-trading advisors is done through the National Futures Association, which is a self-regulated association responsible for reviewing and accepting registrations. Investing money with the help of a commodity-trading advisor can prove to be a very beneficial option. Online commodity traders are expected to manage separate accounts for each of their clients. An experienced and qualified broker can also help an individual interested in commodity trading to get a good commodity-trading advisor. Knowledgeable and trained commodity trading advisors can help people protect their financial security and invest their funds in the right commodity, which is expected to give good returns on sale. They are responsible for making the right investment decisions for clients who have a large sum of money to invest, as this kind of investment comes with an element of risk.

Commodity trading advisors are usually compensated with management and incentive fees for advising people on options, futures, and the actual trading of managed futures accounts. Managed futures are investments that permit people to access the world?s futures markets with the assistance of online commodity trading advisors. Investing in commodity trading is a feasible alternative investment, which utilizes a diverse range of financial instruments. Many online commodity-trading advisors are highly specialized and trade only in their area of expertise, which is why many people would prefer to opt for them so as to avoid the risk of running into heavy losses.

Commodity trading advisors engage in the business of advising others directly or through publications, electronic media, or writings. They are shown to have risks and returns, which are comparable to investment in a single equity. They are prohibited by law from accepting funds in the their name from a client for trading commodity interests.

Author: Jason Gluckman
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Your decision to start learning to trade commodities will give you a completely new insight into the whole world of commodity futures trading. This could be within a specific sector such as grains or precious metals or perhaps across the whole spectrum of global commodity markets. Now doubt you have heard concerns about energy security and the crude oil trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and of how the price fluctuations can be caused by a whole range of factors. And what causes price movements in gold, silver and other precious metals and why should cocoa or coffee futures prices suddenly surge?

These are exciting markets to study, so finding a top quality commodities training provider is so important. How do you go about learning to trade commodities? What are the key areas you need to master with confidence so that you feel comfortable entering the global commodity markets? Firstly, if you are learning to trade commodities find where to do the commodity trading courses that may be on offer. Either start your commodity education at home using study materials with an online training package or attend a top quality trading school where students cover all aspects of commodities and futures.

What are the advantages of attending a commodity trading school? There is face to face contact with tutors and opportunities for one to one coaching. The coaches may either have their knowledge from courses or they have perhaps trade the commodity markets and so have real live trading experience, which is a valuable asset to have in a coach. When you learn to trade commodities in a classroom you can network with like-minded colleagues, sharing ideas with colleagues.

Learning on location lets you watch and learn from “live” trades with your coaches, who may trade in real time as you look over their shoulder. This is valuable as it helps to explain in a live setting what you may have learnt in elsewhere in theory. Such examples are valuable as they bring a real, sharp edge to your commodity trading education, and the tutors will help you as you create a personalised commodity trading plan. With the growth in trading centres, training providers now have locations globally and you may find one close to you, such as in London, Singapore, Dubai and Toronto, as well as major US centres such as Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago and New York.

What are the advantages of online commodity trading packages? Sometimes your location or commitments make it impossible to attend a physical location. So why not try an online training package featuring technical and fundamental aspects of commodity trading, which provide greater flexibility with your work schedule.

These online commodity trading courses will have offer e mail contact with your tutors, as well as video tutorials, using charts, blogs and forums. You will also most likely have access to special software packages allowing you to practice trades and use different trading techniques, as well as CDs and DVDs covering the key learning points.

What is likely to be covered when you begin learning to trade commodities? Expect to look at effects of supply and demand on commodity prices in fundamental analysis, which considers the effects of wars, inflation and the economic cycle. Technical analysis is also important and includes understanding indicators on commodity charts, such as support and resistance, Fibonacci, moving averages, Japanese candlesticks and volumes of trade, which act as signals for when to exit and enter a trade.

The course is likely to show you what a commodity futures contract is and how easy it is to trade electronically, how you place your futures order and set your commodity futures margin, as well as understand how hedging in commodity trading works. The whole area of risk management and preservation of capital is also an important aspect of learning, as is the psychology of trading and having a commodity trading plan. All these basic areas will be covered when you start learning to trade commodities.

Author: William Davies
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Commodity trading is remarkable, especifically because it is possible to make large amounts of money in a short period of time. It is simply a means of trading any physical material that is exchangeable with another like item that investors buy or sell. Commodity trading is basically speculation on the future price actions of a basic raw material. Commodity trading is the one area of the financial markets where any individual with persistence, money to risk, and discipline can be extremely successful. Commodity Trading is also a way to make money fast, but carries considerable risk to your principal. Commodity trading is too risky to try without some sort of trading system or strategy.

Traders enter commodity trading with a view to making big money. Contrary to what many traders say, the mechanics of trading is uncomplicated. You can gain a thorough understanding of how the commodity markets work just by reading a basic guide to Commodity Trading. It should include how to place a trade, contract sizes, margin requirements, and more useful information for newbie traders. Short-term trading is how the majority of traders and would-be traders take part in the markets. Discover what professional commodity traders do that separates them from the losing masses. You will also want to find a firm that offers commodity traders low commissions, quick executions, charts and free quotes.

You should be advised that commodities trading is not for everybody, and if you decide to open a commodity trading account be sure you understand all the risks involved. You may make all of your own trading decisions. Or, for individuals who prefer to leave trading up to a professional commodity trading advisor, a managed account may be the better choice for them. Discuss your commodities trading plan with a commodity broker.

Commodity trading is one of the few remaining level playing fields available to traders. Commodity trading is certainly not for everyone because it can be one of the most volatile markets you can trade. If you are thinking about trading on the futures markets, please do your research and read a commodities trading guide to see if commodity trading is for you.

Author: William McWilliams
Article Source: EzineArticles.com