The Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) is re-launching its Crude Oil Mini futures contracts, starting from March 3, 2023. The Crude Oil Mini futures were discontinued in December 2019, but now they’re back and expected to provide a significant advantage for commodity traders who prefer trading in smaller quantities.
The usual Crude Oil futures contract on MCX is a 100-barrel contract, but the Crude Oil Mini futures contract is a 10-barrel contract. This means that the margin required to trade in one lot of Crude Oil Mini will be approximately one-tenth of the margin needed for the regular Crude Oil futures contract.
The price pattern and underlying product will remain the same for both contracts. The quotation of the Crude Oil Mini futures contract will be ‘Rs per barrel’, and the settlement price will be based on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Crude Oil front-month contract, which is the same as for MCX’s Crude Oil futures contract. The underlying product for both contracts is Light Sweet Crude Oil. We assure its customers of an incredible trading experience for all commodities traded on MCX, including the Crude Oil Mini futures. The re-introduction of Crude Oil Mini futures is expected to be beneficial for commodity traders who prefer smaller quantities of trading.
The Forward Markets Commission has approved MCX’s launch of the Crude Oil Mini futures contract with a trading unit of 10 barrels, quoting ex-Mumbai price. According to the contract specification approved by the regulator, an individual client can trade up to 4,80,000 barrels, while a member (brokerage firm) collectively for all clients can trade up to 24,00,000 barrels.
In addition to Crude Oil Mini futures, MCX already offers mini futures contracts in some of the base metals and precious metals. Stay tuned for more updates from Zebu regarding MCX’s innovative offerings in the commodity trading space.
Commodity trading is the buying and selling of physical goods, such as agricultural products, metals, and energy sources. In India, commodity trading has become increasingly popular in recent years, as investors look for new opportunities to diversify their portfolios and potentially generate higher returns.
Here are a few of the key benefits of commodity trading in India: Diversification: One of the primary benefits of commodity trading is that it allows investors to diversify their portfolios. By including commodities in their portfolio, investors can reduce their exposure to traditional asset classes such as stocks and bonds, which can help to reduce overall portfolio risk. This is particularly important in today’s volatile economic environment, as diversification can help to protect against market downturns and minimize the impact of any individual investment on an investor’s overall portfolio performance.
Potential for higher returns: Commodities can be an attractive investment option for investors who are looking for the potential for higher returns. Many commodities, such as gold and oil, have historically performed well during times of economic uncertainty and market volatility, which can make them a good choice for investors who are seeking to protect their wealth. In addition, commodities can offer attractive risk-reward profiles, as their prices tend to be more closely tied to underlying supply and demand dynamics than other asset classes.
Inflation hedge: Commodities are also often seen as a good way to hedge against inflation, as their prices tend to rise when the cost of living increases. This can make them an attractive investment option for investors who are looking to protect their purchasing power over the long term. For example, gold has traditionally been viewed as a safe haven asset that can protect against inflation, as its value tends to increase when the purchasing power of other currencies declines.
Liquidity: Commodities are typically highly liquid, which means that they can be easily bought and sold on the open market. This can make them a good choice for investors who need to quickly access their funds or who are looking to actively manage their portfolios. In addition, liquidity can be particularly important in times of market stress, as it allows investors to easily buy or sell their investments as needed.
Regulation: In India, commodity trading is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which ensures that the market is transparent and fair for all participants. This can give investors confidence that their investments are being handled in a professional and trustworthy manner. In addition, regulation can help to protect investors against fraud and other forms of misconduct, which can be a concern in some less regulated markets.
Potential for price appreciation: Finally, one of the main benefits of commodity trading is the potential for price appreciation. Commodities are physical goods that can be subject to price fluctuations based on changes in supply and demand, and these fluctuations can create opportunities for investors to profit from price movements. For example, if an investor believes that the price of a particular commodity is undervalued, they may buy that commodity in the hopes that its price will eventually rise.
In conclusion, commodity trading can offer a number of benefits for investors in India, including diversification, the potential for higher returns, protection against inflation, liquidity, regulation, and the potential for price appreciation. By including commodities in their portfolios, investors can potentially reduce risk, generate higher returns, and protect their wealth over the long term.
In continuation with the previous article, we discuss more about the opportunities available in trading crude oil in the commodities market.
Demand for crude oil is lower for immediate delivery than for delivery in the future. Investors don’t want fast delivery because it’s hard to get oil to where it needs to go. Because of this, end users and investors often choose futures contracts.
By entering a commodities futures contract, a trader promises to buy or sell a certain amount of crude oil at a certain price on a certain date. An example is the best way to understand the idea of trading in commodities.
Example 1: Buying and selling goods to protect against risk Let’s say you’re a farmer who grows wheat and sells it for 500 rupees per quintal on the market. You make a good profit. Since you have a lot of rice to sell, you need to make sure you won’t lose money if the price of wheat drops quickly. To protect yourself from losing money, you can buy a futures contract to sell the wheat at Rs. 500 per quintal at a later date. This is known as “hedging.”
Example 2: Trading goods for the sake of speculation Let’s say, for now, that you are a trader who wants to trade crude oil futures. You are optimistic about crude oil (meaning you think that crude oil prices will increase in the future). A futures contract for crude oil has 100 barrels and costs Rs. 3,00,000 (Rs. 3,000 per barrel), but you don’t have to pay the full amount to buy it. There must be a 5% margin, which costs Rs. 15,000.
Think about a rise in the price of crude oil to Rs. 3,500 per barrel. In this case, if you spend Rs. 3,000, you might make Rs. 500 per barrel and Rs. 50000 in total. As a result, trading commodities gives traders a lot of power.
The commodities market is another place where it might be profitable for crude oil prices to go down around the world. For example, if you bought an oil futures contract on December 1 with a strike price of Rs. 4520, the price of a barrel of oil dropped to Rs. 4500 But if the sale was for 10,000 barrels, you could still sell the futures for Rs. 4520 and make a profit of Rs. 100 per barrel, or a net profit of Rs. 10 lakh (10,000 barrels x 100).
In order to trade oil futures, a trader must find the right exchange for the oil benchmark he or she wants to use.
Oil benchmarks:The benchmark price for crude oil is used by both buyers and sellers as a standard. The three most important oil benchmarks around the world are the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the Brent Blend, and the Dubai Crude.
Exchanges: In India, oil futures are traded at the Multi Commodity Exchange, which is also known as MCX. On the MCX, crude oil is one of the commodities that is traded the most. 8500 barrels of oil, worth Rs 3000 crores, are often traded on the exchange every day. In FY19, close to 32% of the MCX’s over Rs. 66 lakh crores in income came from crude oil.
Every day, crude oil futures worth more than Rs. 3,000 crore are traded on the MCX.
On the MCX, there are two kinds of crude oil futures:
Crude oil micro is more popular among dealers because the lot sizes are smaller and the required margin is lower.
Can an individual investor buy and sell oil futures?
There’s no question that you only need a small amount of money to start, and the higher leverage gives you the best chance of making more money. But oil futures are not only easy to buy and sell, but they are also very volatile, which makes it hard to guess how prices will change.
If your broker works with commodities and is connected to the MCX or NCDEX, you can talk to them about trading crude oil futures. It’s better to start out trading with professionals and then gradually go it alone. To get started with trading with crude, open your demat account with Zebu today.
On the financial market, commodities are treated as a separate type of asset. The commodities market is a place where people buy and sell basic goods. On commodity exchanges in India and other countries, people buy and sell things like natural gas, corn, soybeans, gold, silver, and copper.
If you want to trade on the stock market, you need an online trading stock broker who will help you make the best trades. Contact us to learn more about Zebu and the services it offers.
India has six commodity exchanges, but the Multi Commodity Exchange is the best-known one.
On the Indian commodity market, traders can buy and sell complex financial products such as derivatives, swaps, futures, and options. So, no one institution is in charge of setting the prices of the goods that are traded on the markets. Several economic factors affect the price of a product.
In finance terms, commodities are basic goods that can be bought and sold in large quantities on the open market. When commodities are traded, they may be an important asset class for traders. Hard commodities and soft commodities are the two main types of commodities. These goods are traded for business reasons on the global commodity market.
Types of Commodities There are three types of commodities that are traded on the Indian markets.
Metals: This group includes both precious metals and metals used for other things, like nickel, copper, zinc, and gold. Energy – Natural gas and crude oil are energy sources traded on the market Agriculture – Rubber, black pepper, cardamom, castor seeds, cotton, and crude palm oil are all products of agriculture and livestock
Factors that affect how much commodities cost Just like stock prices, commodity prices change all the time because of internal and external market factors. Let’s look at the factors that affect the price of commodities on the market.
Global politics and macroeconomics Changes in global politics often have an effect on the prices of goods. For example, the price of crude oil on the global market is affected by changes in the political and economic situations of OPEC members.
Supply and demand Demand and supply have a direct effect on the prices of commodities. When demand is higher than supply, prices go up in the market. On the other hand, prices go down when the economy has less supply than it needs.
Speculators These are traders who buy and sell commodities with the goal of making money from price changes. The prices of goods on the market are affected by what they do.
What do the prices of goods in the share market look like? The price of a good is set by what buyers and sellers do on the market. Prices for goods can be given in two different ways. The first way is to use the market futures price, which is the price that is reported in market news. The second is the “spot price,” which is the cash price of the item. If you want to buy the item today, you will have to pay the price listed.
Trading commodities is a great way to add another asset class to your portfolio of investments. You can invest in commodities as an asset class if you understand the basics and know how much risk you can handle. Trading in commodities is risky, but it can also bring in a lot of money. Before putting a lot of your hard-earned money into something, you should do a lot of research and learn about every part of the goods market. Open a demat account with Zebu to start trading commodities.
If you are looking to trade in the stock market, you need an online trading stock broker who will help you make the best trades. Get in touch with us to know more about Zebu and its services.
Commodity trading has a long history in India. The Bombay Cotton Trade was established in 1875, marking the first significant milestone. Then, in 1991, came the liberation policy, which boosted commodities trading. Futures were reintroduced in 1994 after being discontinued owing to war and food shortages. Agricultural goods were included as a result of the reintroduction.
They are as follows: MCX stands for Multi Commodity Exchange. NCDEX stands for National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange. NMCE stands for National Multi Commodity Exchange. ICEX stands for Indian Commodity Exchange. ACE stands for Ace Derivatives Exchange. UCX stands for Universal Commodity Exchange. When it comes to market share, MCX has a 70 percent stake, NCDEX has a 25 percent share, and NMCE has a 5 percent share.
Here are a few benefits of commodity trading in India:
1. A Reliable Option in a Crisis There aren’t many people interested in trading commodities. A trader, on the other hand, may consider investing in metals such as gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals. In times of inflation and economic uncertainty, these provide security.
2. Diversification of your portfolio If you’re an investor who already invests in equities and bonds, you might want to examine commodities as well. You can diversify your portfolio and develop a risk-adjusted strategy this way.
3. Transparent Commodity trade has become more transparent in India because to online commodity trading. Price discovery is fair, and it is regulated by large-scale involvement. When there is such a large degree of engagement, it also aids in gauging the perception and outlook of commodity traders.
4. Possibility of High Returns When it comes to commodities trading, there’s always the possibility that a trader will strike it rich. However, this is only achievable if a sound trading plan is in place.
5. Hedging Hedging is the practice of managing price risks in the futures market by taking an equal and opposite position. Certain factors in commodity trading, such as natural disasters, economic crises, or war, might cause commodity prices to rise. These commodities can be used as a risk hedge.
6. Anti-inflationary protection Commodity prices typically rise during periods of inflation. Investing in the right commodities will not only help you beat inflation but also help you make excellent profits.
7. Trading with a Smaller Margin Commodity trading allows you to trade with a reduced margin of 5% -10%. You can take bigger positions with less capital if you have a lower margin.
8. There will be no cut-offs Time decay is a constraint while trading Options. As the expiration date approaches, there is less time to cash in on the option financially. Time decay is not an issue in commodities futures because there is no expectation of a strike price at expiration.
As we mentioned before, trading strangles requires thebest Indian trading platform and the lowest brokerage for intraday trading. As one of the best brokerage firms in the country, we have created a powerful trading platform that makes analysis easy for you. To know more about its features, please get in touch with us now.
Every day, thousands of traders and investors participate in the capital markets. All of the participants’ primary goal is to make a profit. To trade in the stock market, you can use a variety of techniques and strategies. A trading strategy, on the other hand, becomes applicable only if the asset’s price moves in a favourable direction. Arbitrage is a unique but simple method of profiting from the capital markets.
Before we get into arbitrage trading… To do any form of trading, you need a reliable brokerage trading firm that gives you thebest stock trading platform that helps you analyse the right trading opportunities. Zebu gives you one of the best online trading platforms in the country with a fast-growing customer base. Please get in touch with us to know more.
What exactly is arbitrage? To understand how arbitrage works, it is essential to first define arbitrage. Arbitrage is defined as the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same asset in different markets in order to profit from the price difference in both markets. While arbitrage opportunities can arise in any asset class that is traded in different markets in a standardised form, currency and stock markets are the most common. Arbitrage opportunities are frequently fleeting, lasting only seconds or minutes. Contrary to popular belief, markets are not completely efficient, creating arbitrage opportunities. As you may know, the price of an asset is determined by the supply and demand for it. A price difference arises as a result of a difference in supply and demand for an asset in different markets, which can be used for arbitrage trading.
What is the process of arbitrage trading? As mentioned earlier, arbitrage trading is based on the trader’s ability to capitalise on the price gap of the same asset in different markets. Because arbitrage opportunities are limited, most traders use algorithms to execute arbitrage trades. Let us look at a stock market example to see how arbitrage works. Assume XYZ is a stock that is traded on the National Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. On the NYSE, the price of XYZ is quoted in US dollars, while on the NSE, it is quoted in Indian rupees. On the NYSE, the share price of XYZ is $4. The share price on the NSE is Rs 238. If the USD/INR exchange rate is Rs 60, the NYSE share price of XYZ in INR will be Rs 240. If the USD is converted to INR, the same stock is quoted at Rs 238 on the NSE and Rs 240 on the NYSE. To take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity, a trader will purchase XYZ shares on the NSE at Rs 238 per share and sell the same number of shares on the NYSE for Rs 240, earning a profit of Rs 2 per share. While participating in arbitrage trades, traders must consider certain risks. The price difference is the result of a favourable exchange rate, which is constantly changing. Any significant change in the exchange rate while the trade is being carried out can result in losses. The transaction fees are another important factor to consider. If the transaction cost exceeds Rs 2 per share, the price gain will be lost.
In India, how does arbitrage work? There is a scarcity of companies that are listed on both the Indian and foreign stock exchanges. However, India has two major exchanges—the BSE and the NSE—and the majority of companies are listed on both, creating an opportunity for arbitrage. Even if the price of a particular share differs between the NSE and the BSE, an arbitrage trade cannot be conducted. On the same day, traders are not permitted to buy and sell the same stock on different exchanges. For example, if you buy XYZ shares on the NSE today, you cannot sell them on the BSE the same day. So, how exactly does arbitrage work? One can sell shares that he or she already owns on one exchange and buy the same amount on another. For example, if you already own XYZ shares, you can sell them on the BSE and purchase them on the NSE. If you already own the stock, you are not engaging in an intraday trade on different exchanges, which is not permitted.
Conclusion Because the price differential does not last long, automated systems are commonly used for arbitrage trading. Though spotting arbitrage opportunities is simple, profiting from them manually is extremely difficult. As we mentioned earlier, arbitrage trading needs the best online trading platform for you to instantly capitalise on any price difference between NSE and BSE. Zebull from Zebu is the fastest growing and best stock trading platform that comes with a mind-boggling number of features to help traders. Zebu is also becoming the fastest-growing brokerage firm in the country – please get in touch with us to know more about our products and services.
