Understanding Commodity Markets and Commodity Trading (In-House)

Introduction to the Commodity Markets

• Overview of the commodity markets

• Key price movers

• Investors, fund managers and traders in commodity assets

• Linking to other asset classes

• The primary markets

  • Energy

  • Base metals (ferrous and non-ferrous)

  • Precious metals

  • Agriculturals (Ags)

• Trading commodities

  • Spot and forward markets

  • Contango and backwardation

  • Commodity futures markets

  • Options – exchange and OTC

  • Margin – what it means

The Energy Markets

• Oil and energy basics

• Geo-political and transportation risk

• OPEC, OPOEC+ and non-OPEC production

• The energy exchanges

  • ICE

  • CME

  • TOCOM

• Energy products

  • Crude oil and crude oil contracts

  • Brent – WTI spread

  • Global benchmarks and pricing

  • Heating oil / ULSD / Diesel

  • RBOB Unleaded fuel

  • LNG / Natural gas

• Trading and trading strategies

  • Spread / crack trades

  • Refinery demand

  • IMO 2020 impact

Understanding the Base Metals

• What are base metals?

• Is it all about China? – today’s price drivers

• Trading base metals

  • The Exchanges

  • ICE/LME/CME

  • LME – how it works

  • Minor exchanges

  • The 6 base metals

  • Iron ore and steel

  • Rare earth metals (elements)

• Trading and trading strategies

  • The cycle (miner/producer/consumer)

  • Spot and forward trades

The Mechanics of Gold and Precious Metals

• Inside the gold – investors, traders and hoarders

  • Production, consumption and storage

  • Pricing and how the forward market operates

  • ETFs and gold derivatives

  • Gold mines index

  • IMF and central banks

• Silver and PGMs

  • Industrial uses

  • Supply/demand

Getting to Grips with Agricultural Products

• Overview of the Agri sector and market developments

• Major data releases and their impact

  • Grains and oil seeds

  • Softs

  • Meat and livestock

• Price drivers, seasonality and weather

• Trade tariffs, trade associations and government controls

• The agricultural products

  • Grains and oil seeds

    • wheat

    • corn

    • maize

    • oats

    • Soya bean oil and meal

  • Softs

    • Coffee

    • Cocoa

    • Cotton

    • Sugar

  • Orange juice

  • Dairy

  • Meat and livestock markets

    • Lean hogs

    • Live cattle

    • Feeder cattle

• New price drivers

• Supply chain control and the major trading houses

Getting to Grips with Agricultural Products

• Overview of the Agri sector and market developments

• Major data releases and their impact

  • Grains and oil seeds

  • Softs

  • Meat and livestock

• Price drivers, seasonality and weather

• Trade tariffs, trade associations and government controls

• The agricultural products

  • Grains and oil seeds

    • wheat

    • corn

    • maize

    • oats

    • Soya bean oil and meal

  • Softs

    • Coffee

    • Cocoa

    • Cotton

    • Sugar

  • Orange juice

  • Dairy

  • Meat and livestock markets

    • Lean hogs

    • Live cattle

    • Feeder cattle

• New price drivers

• Supply chain control and the major trading houses

Trading Commodities on Fundamentals

• Global supply and demand

• Natural and man-made disasters

• Producer data and inventories

Trading Commodities with Charts – Technical Analysis

• Why does anyone use charts?

• Understanding your price data and chart presentations

• Analysis techniques to start trading

  • Support/resistance and what they really mean

  • Moving averages and crossovers – can they work?

  • Stochastics and oscillators

• The key to trading commodities and managing your trades