Guide to Commodity Futures Trading

Commodity Futures are contracts to buy/sell a specific quantity of a particular commodity at a future date. It is exactly similar to the Index futures and Stock futures but the underlying here happens to be commodities instead of Indices and Stocks.

Commodity futures market has been in existence in India for over centuries now. The Government of India banned futures trading in certain commodities in the 70s. However, trading in commodity futures was again permitted again by the government in order to help the commodity producers, traders and investors. It is interesting to note that World-wide, the commodity exchanges originated much before other financial exchanges. Infact most of the derivatives instruments had their birth through the commodity exchanges.

Commodities are the best option for those who want to diversify their portfolios beyond real estate, bonds and shares. Commodities can be an unfathomable market for retail investors who claim to understand the equity market. But commodities become convenient to understand if you are well-versed with the fundamentals of demand and supply. We suggest you not to take a leap into commodity futures if you do not clearly understand the risks and advantages of commodity trading. Commodities futures provide an efficient portfolio diversification option because their pricing is less volatile as compared to the equity and bond markets.

Commodities market is growing many folds with the introduction of futures trading. You have three options to trade in Commodity Futures – the National Commodity and Derivative Exchange, the Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd and the National Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. All three have a national presence, settlement systems and electronic trading. You can opt for a brokerage firm that is already established and has sought membership with NCDEX and MCX. The minimum investment required in commodity futures can be as low as Rs.5,000. You will need only one bank account to start trading in the commodityfutures market. If you are dealing with a broker then you have to enter into a KYC with the broker as a part of the account opening process and just like in stocks, you can open a separate commodity demat account with MCX and NCDEX.Investors can refer daily financial newspapers for information on commodities.

Founded in 2005, ABans Group has grown from being a trading house to a dynamic and diversified business group. We provide expertise in Broking Services, Merchant Banking, Non-Banking FinancialDealings, Gold Refining and Realty and Infrastructure. In a nut shell Abans Group is a comprehensive Financial Services and Solution Provider, which aims to provide an end-to-end financial solution to all its clients.