Trading CFDs on Commodities
Commodities available on SmartSTP platform
| Symbol | Description | Trading hours | |
|---|---|---|---|
| XAUUSD | Gold vs. US Dollar | 01:00 - 24:00 | Buy Sell |
| Brent Oil | Brent Crude Oil (ICE-EUR) | 03:00 - 01:00 | Buy Sell |
| Crude Oil | Light Sweet Crude Oil (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| Soy Beans | Soybeans (CME) | 03:00-15:45 & 16:30-21:25 | Buy Sell |
| Natural Gas | Natural Gas (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| Corn | Corn (CME) | 03:00 - 15:45 & 16:30 - 21:25 | Buy Sell |
| XAGUSD | Silver vs. US Dollar | 01:00 - 24:00 | Buy Sell |
| Palladium | Palladium (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| Platinum | Platinum (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| R.B.O.B Gasoline | R.B.O.B Gasoline (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| Sugar | Sugar #11 (ICE-US) | 10:30 - 20:00 | Buy Sell |
| Wheat | Wheat (CME) | 03:00 - 15:45 & 16:30 - 21:25 | Buy Sell |
| Cocoa | Cocoa (ICE-US) | 11:45 - 20:30 | Buy Sell |
| Coffee | Coffee (ICE-US) | 11:25 - 20:30 | Buy Sell |
| Copper | Copper (CME) | 01:00 - 00:15 | Buy Sell |
| Cotton | Cotton #2 (ICE-US) | 04:00 - 21:20 | Buy Sell |
What is a commodity?
A commodity is usually defined as a natural resource, raw material, or an agricultural product. Coal, gas, crude oil, and gold are the most popular natural resources for trading. As for agricultural products, cocoa, wheat, coffee, soybeans, and cotton are highly traded on the markets. Commodities, together with stocks and real estate, have long been regarded as an important investment asset. Back in the day, commodities were traded in bulk by big companies so individual traders could not get access to them. The rise of CFD trading has changed this practice, and now any trader can diversify their portfolio with commodity trading.
Types of commodities
In the financial world, there are two major groups of commodities known as hard and soft. Crude oil, natural gas, and gold, for example, belong to the hard group of commodities, while coffee or corn – to the soft.
Hard and soft commodities include four distinctive subgroups: energies (oil, gasoline, natural gas), metals (gold, silver, platinum, copper), agriculture (cocoa, soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton), and livestock and meat (milk, live cattle, feeder cattle etc.).
How to trade CFDs on commodities?
Trading CFDs on commodities starts with a thorough study of commodity market analytics.
With CFD trading, one does not own the actual commodity assets. Traders speculate on the price change of the chosen assets.
Commodity trading has its benefits and risks due to daily price fluctuations, especially with energies like oil. Thus, it is important to follow real-time market updates and choose the right trading strategy for you. Select the commodity (or some of them) that you are interested in trading on. Analyze the market, and determine if it is going bull or bear. Place your bid in the trading terminal of your choice and follow your trading strategy whichever it may be - hedging, day trading, or a long-term positioning.
