Futures codes and their decoding. Oil trading on Forex Exchange oil trading

The price of oil depends on many geopolitical factors, and its changes are often determined by the mood of market participants. The players in the global oil market are:

• latest news;
• detailed reviews;
• short-term and long-term forecasts.

Example: Airlines may trade oil to protect against potential price increases, and traders on leading commodity exchanges may trade oil to profit from market movements.

The factors that influence the price of oil are no different from those that influence the prices of currencies - these factors can be political, financial or even weather.

Oil CFD contracts

In the Forex market, oil CFD contracts are traded in almost the same way as currency pairs, but with a different margin level and leverage. One contract for the supply of a certain type of oil reflects the cost of 100 barrels of raw materials in US dollars. In Forex, oil contracts are called contracts for difference, and they are over-the-counter financial instruments that involve cash settlement and have an expiration date.
CFD contracts in the Forex market involve trading in crude oil, which can be:

• heavy or untreated
• light or peeled.

In addition, the sulfur content in oil and its density are taken into account.

Oil futures trading

In addition to contracts for difference, trading in oil futures is practiced on Forex. We have two types of oil contracts:

• Brent (a mixture of light oils with low sulfur content from fields in the North Sea),
• WTI grade (lighter West Texas Standard, low sulfur).

In accordance with the decoding of futures contract codes, the contract for Brent crude oil (Crude Oil Brent) is designated #XBZ, the contract for WTI crude oil (Crude Oil Light Sweet) is #CL. In addition, trading is carried out in a mini-contract of standard futures under the ticker #CL - miNY Crude Oil (#QM).

Oil today is the most popular commodity on world markets, which is not surprising, because without this viscous black liquid, our civilization would not be able to make a breakthrough in technology. Currently, petroleum products are used in all industries, from agriculture to the production of components for space shuttles and satellites.

Of course, many people want to take part in the distribution of profits from fluctuations in oil prices. If 10-20 years ago only entities with large capital could make money on oil futures, today in many dealing centers, whose main specialization is Forex, available for oil cfd trading.

I have already talked about CFDs and their differences from futures in one of the previous publications, so I will not consider the theory today, but instead I will try to answer in detail the question “how is oil indicated on Forex”.

Novice traders often ask such questions, and I understand them, because in the specifications of different brokers you can find the following oil designations: WTI, CL, QM, WBS, BRN, XBZ, UKOIL, USOIL, I think I’ve listed them all.

Are different oil symbols on Forex different brands?

Unfortunately, no, just for the sake of solidity, some DCs add all the listed tickers to the list of instruments at once, which confuses traders even more. In fact, all the symbols listed above indicate only the two most liquid brands - BRENT and WTI, but first things first.

The symbol of oil on Forex is BRENT

BRENT oil is a marker grade of oil produced from fields in the North Sea.

Deliverable futures for this oil are traded on the ICE Intercontinental Exchange and are designated as BRN5 Where:

• BR – the BRENT oil ticker itself;
• N is the month of the fixed-term contract, in this example N is the July contract;
• 5 – year of delivery.

https://www.theice.com/products/219/Brent-Crude-Futures/data- page on ICE.

Thus, if in the Forex company’s terminal oil is indicated in the same way as, for example, Alpari, it means that for cfd quotes on the Brent mark, quotes from the delivery futures contract on ICE are imported. By the way, this is the best option, since, firstly, the possibility of manipulating quotes is excluded (they can always be compared with the original source), and secondly, trading on the intercontinental market is the most objective.

Another frequently occurring symbol for BRENT is XBZ(for example, XBZN5 is the full ticker for the July 2015 contract). This designation of oil on Forex is assigned to cfd contracts for settlement futures traded on NYMEX. In principle, the difference here is not noticeable - quotes almost always correspond point to point to the price of deliverable futures.

http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/brent-crude-oil-last-day.html- XBZ quotes (NYMEX is part of the CME Group).

Symbol UKOIL also quite common in terminals and denotes Brent oil, but it is not standard (not used in exchange specifications) and, apparently, was introduced into circulation by FXCM to denote its cfds.

Oil symbols on Forex - WTI mark

WTI oil is a marker grade of American oil that is produced in Texas.

As in the case of BRENT, there is often confusion with the designations on WTI, although in fact, with the codes everything is very simple and unambiguous.

Symbol C.L., which is found in most DCs, is designated cfd for deliverable WTI futures traded on NYMEX. You can find quotes for these futures, as well as real volumes, on the CME Group website:

http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/energy/crude-oil/light-sweet-crude.html

Most often, dealers simplify the symbols of oil on Forex by providing the trader with a “stitched” chart without breaking it down into contracts, but sometimes there is the most exact correspondence to exchange tickers, for example, CLN2015 – July 2015 contract (CLF2016 – January 2016 contract).

Symbol QM are designated cfds on WTI mini-contracts, which, in turn, are also traded on NYMEX. This option is suitable for intermediate-term beginners.

If the code is found WBS, then in this case the cfd quotes are imported from the settled WTI futures, which are traded on ICE. By the way, an interesting point - on NYMEX you can trade deliverable WTI futures and settled futures on BRENT, and on ICE, on the contrary, you can trade deliverable futures on BRENT and settled futures on WTI. Globalization unites markets.

And the last symbol that often catches your eye is USOIL. As with the similar ticker for Brent, it is not standard, but is easy to remember, since US is the United States, and OIL is oil, we get “US oil”.

I think it has already become clear to everyone that oil symbols on Forex for each brand can be completely different from each other. True, this difference does not fundamentally change anything, since the prices of settlement and delivery futures (and therefore the cfd quotes for these futures) completely depend on the same factors.

The only thing for which knowledge about the original source of quotes can be useful is to bring dishonest dealing centers to light, for example, if a spike or spike appears that breaks the stop loss. But in fairness, I note that today this is very rare, partly due to the availability of the opportunity to compare DC quotes with exchange data.

Hello, dear readers! I’ll tell you how to decipher the futures symbol, and you’ll also find out the codes of the most traded futures contracts. The information is very necessary, I will try to convey it in understandable language. Let me remind you that I promised to write this post in the last article:

For example, I’ll take CCZ2, a cocoa futures contract. The first two letters SS (sometimes there are more) indicate that this is a cocoa futures. The third letter Z is the expiration month (that is, the month the contract expires). The last digit is the year, in our case 2012.

The last digit of the futures code always indicates the expiration year, 2012 is 2, 2013 is 3, 2014 is 4, 2015 is 5, etc.

Here are the designations for all months:

January – F;
February – G;
March – H;
April – J;
May – K;
June – M;
July – N;
August – Q;
September – U;
October – V;
November – X;
December – Z.

Let's continue to decipher the futures codes, a table of the first letters of the code that indicate the name of the futures:

Currency futures codes:

6A – Australian dollar futures;
6B – British pound futures;
6C – Canadian dollar futures;
6E – euro futures;
6J – Japanese yen futures;
6N – New Zealand dollar futures;
6R – futures for Russian ruble;
6S – Swiss franc futures;
DX – futures on the US dollar index;
RF – futures on euro versus Swiss franc;
RP – euro futures against British pound;
RY – euro futures against Japanese yen.

Energy futures codes:

BRN – futures for Brent crude oil;
CL – futures for Light Sweet crude oil;
HO – heating oil futures;
NG – natural gas futures;
WTI – futures for WTI crude oil;
XRB – gasoline futures.

Futures codes for grain commodities:

ZC – corn futures;
ZL – soybean oil futures;
ZM – soybean futures;
ZO – oat futures;
ZR – brown rice futures;
ZS – soybean futures;
ZW – wheat futures.

Futures codes for meat products:

GF – livestock futures;
HE – lean pork futures;
LE – live cattle futures.

Metal futures codes:

ALUM – aluminum futures;
COPP – copper futures;
GC – gold futures;
GOLD – gold futures;
HG – copper futures;
LEAD – lead futures;
NICK – nickel futures;
PA – palladium futures;
PL – platinum futures;
SI – silver futures;
ZINC – zinc futures.

Consumer Goods Futures Codes:

C – cocoa futures;
CC – cocoa futures;
CT – cotton futures;
JO – orange juice futures;
KC – coffee futures;
LB – forest futures (lumber);
RC – robusta coffee futures;
SB – sugar futures;
W – white sugar futures.

Index futures codes:

ER2 – futures on a mini contract of the Russell index;
ES – futures on a mini contract of the SP500 index;
FCE – futures on the CAC 40 index;
FDAX – futures on the DAX index Germany;
FESX – futures on the Dow Jones EuroStocks 50 index;
FSMI – futures on the FSMI Switzerland index;
FSTX – futures on the Dow Jones Stokes 50 index;
FTSE – futures on the FTSE 100 index;
HSI – Hang Seng Index futures;
IBX – futures on the IBEX 35 index;
MC – futures on a mini contract of the SP MIDCAP 400 index;
MDAX – futures on a mini contract of the DAX Germany index;
MHI – futures on the mini contract of the Hang Seng Index;
NI – futures on the Nikkei 225 index Japan;
NKD – futures on the Nikkei 225 index Japan;
NQ – futures on a mini contract of the NASDAQ 100 index;
VIX – futures on the stock market volatility index SP 500 VOLATILITY;
YM – futures on a mini contract of the Dow Jones index;
RI – futures on the RTS index.

I’ll stop here, there are a lot of them, so I’ve given the codes of the most traded futures.

At the end of the article, I invite everyone to subscribe to updates by email in the form below, so you will be the first to know about new materials! Or add me on social networks, where I announce articles, I’ll be glad! I wish you profitable trading, goodbye!

P.S. I like videos like this, I share them with you! :-)

Oil is one of the most traded commodities on the world market. Almost every broker has the opportunity to make money on price fluctuations. This financial instrument is one of the most popular among traders, along with precious metals and shares of famous world-famous companies. What types of oil are there? What are the current price trends in the market for this product? What does oil futures look like in MT4? Let's look at the example of a broker's trading terminal Forex4You .

Oil symbol in MT4 on the Forex4You broker platform

Oil is not among the standard financial instruments of the trading terminal MT4 broker Forex4You, so in order for it to appear in the general list, it must be found and displayed on the screen. This can be done in two ways. Either right-click on the list of tools and select the “show all symbols” menu item, or after calling the context menu, select the “Symbols” item, select the Commodities-var list item and click the “Show” and “Close” buttons. The process is shown in more detail in the figure below.

In the first case, all financial instruments of the broker available for trading will be displayed. In the second, you will see only a small list included in the subgroup, which includes oil in MT4 in the terminal of the brokerage company. All that remains is to display the commodity chart. How is oil indicated in MT4 in the list of instruments?

The Forex4You broker has two types of oil available for trading - WTI and Brent. How are they different from each other?

What is the difference between WTI oil and Brent oil?

The Brent brand is considered European and is aimed primarily at the Asian and European markets. It is considered the main one, and its pricing sets the cost of other varieties. As for its composition, it contains slightly more sulfur, so it is more difficult to process than the WTI grade.

WTI oil is produced in the USA and is intended for the American market. It contains less sulfur. Its price on the world market is slightly lower than Brent oil. This is due to large production volumes and the absence of product shortages. According to American laws, exporting oil to Europe is prohibited.

Both types of oil are traded on stock exchanges. WTI is listed on the Nymex exchange in New York, and Brent is listed on the ICE exchange in London. In the Forex market, oil in MT4 is presented in the form of contracts for difference, since such a commodity can only be traded directly through the exchange. Forex brokers do not have such powers. There are also other types of oil depending on the countries where production takes place. However, the brands listed above are considered the main and quoted ones.

For the typical forex trader, it makes no difference to trade directly in commodities or CFDs, other than the cost of entry into CFD trading is significantly less than being able to trade oil on the exchange floors. The price of a contract for difference on a particular financial instrument or commodity changes in the same way as the price of the commodity itself. With the Forex4You broker, oil trading in MT4 is possible around the clock, except for Saturday and Sunday. The process of opening transactions is no different from trading currency pairs.

Brent and WTI oil market trends

At the moment, oil price charts are not much different. The price of WTI is usually 2-3 dollars lower than the price of Brent, but the global trends are the same for the two grades. It does not happen that the Brent oil market is growing and the WTI oil market is falling (the exception is short-term periods, small time frames in the MT4 terminal). Below are charts of two types of oil in the broker's trading platform, starting in 2015 (weekly timeframe).

WTI variety.

And the Brent variety.

As you can see, the graphs are absolutely identical. Trends and corrections begin at the same time. The only difference is the price. Yes, and here there are no significant differences.

As for analysts’ forecasts for 2017, oil is expected to trade at $60-65. Currently, it is almost close to the expected price. One should not expect a sharp drop in commodities this year, since the main crisis phenomena in the market have passed. Currently, the price is regaining its positions. A sharp increase is also not expected, since the price of $100 and above, which was observed before 2014, was too high and oil was overvalued. Currently the quotes are at the fair value level.

How to trade oil CFDs?

To trade oil, you can use the same trading strategies as when trading currency pairs. Currently, the instrument is in a stable upward trend, so it is recommended to trade according to the main trend and open buy trades. It is better to do this after corrections. How to determine the optimal place to enter the market?

From the figure below you can see that each stage of growth is followed by a decline. If we use Fibonacci levels, we will see that the pair makes a correction each time to the level of 61.8, after which it resumes movement within the main trend.

You can take advantage of this observation and buy oil from the level of 61.8 until the price reaches the average predicted value for 2017 - $60-65. It is better to postpone future purchases or conduct a fundamental analysis of the situation on the oil market, taking into account new realities. Perhaps, after reaching this level, the price will go for a more global correction on the weekly or monthly timeframes and drop to the level of $35-40.

Oil trading in MT4 is a relatively safe type of trading if the trader adheres to conservative risks. This product is unlikely to depreciate in value in the next few decades, since the alternative is rather poorly developed. Most likely, in the near future the price of “black gold” will slowly and surely grow if the world economy grows steadily. This is why oil CFDs are a successful tool for making money on the Forex market.

We remember that the profitability of trading very much depends on

Greetings, dear friends! In this article I will tell you how to decipher the futures symbol, and you will also learn the codes of the most popular futures contracts. The information is very necessary, especially for those who are not going to get hung up on currencies.

The code of any futures consists of 3 (three) parts:

1. Underlying asset code (denoted by two symbols; for example, Ri, Si, Gz, Sr)
The underlying asset is the instrument that underlies the futures contract. If we consider futures on the RTS Index, then the RTS Index will act as the underlying asset. If we take a futures contract for Sberbank shares, then Sberbank shares will act as the underlying asset.
Each underlying asset has its own code. Here are some of the most liquid futures on the Russian stock exchange:

The full list can be viewed on the MICEX-RTS website.
2. Month of execution (indicated by one symbol)

Each futures contract has its own lifespan. The month in which expiration occurs (i.e., termination of operation) is indicated in the futures contract code.
What does this mean in practice?
During expiration, the broker will forcefully close the contract. If you want to continue holding the deal, you will have to buy (sell) a new contract with a later delivery month.

3. Year of execution (indicated by one symbol)
It is also necessary to pay attention to the year of execution. The year of execution is encoded with just one digit, i.e. if the year of contract execution is 2012, then the last digit is indicated in the contract code. In this case it is number 2.

Let's say we see the following inscription:

It means that

BR is a futures contract for Brent crude oil.

N – delivery in March

3 means in 2013.

________________

Currency futures codes:

________________

6A – Australian dollar;

6B – British pound;

6C – Canadian dollar;

6E – euro;

6J – Japanese yen;

6N – New Zealand dollar;

6R – Russian ruble;

6S – Swiss franc;

DX – US dollar index;

RF – euro to Swiss franc;

RP – euro to British pound;

RY – euro to Japanese yen.

Energy futures codes:

BRN – Brent crude oil;

CL – Light Sweet crude oil;

HO – heating oil;

NG – natural gas;

WTI – WTI crude oil;

XRB – gasoline.

________________

Futures codes for grain commodities:

________________

ZC – corn;

ZL – soybean oil;

ZO – oats;

ZR – brown rice;

ZS – soybeans;

ZW – wheat.

Futures codes for meat products:

GF – livestock;

HE – lean pork (as it sounds!);

LE – live cattle.

________________

Metal futures codes:

ALUM – aluminum;

COPP – copper;

GC – gold;

GOLD – also gold;

HG – copper;

LEAD – lead;

NICK – nickel;

PA – palladium;

PL – platinum;

SI – silver;

ZINC – zinc.

Consumer Goods Futures Codes:

C – cocoa;

CT – cotton;

JO – orange juice;

KC – coffee;

LB – forest (lumber);

RC – robusta coffee;

SB – sugar;

W – white sugar.

Index futures codes:

ER2 – mini contract of the Russell index;

ES – mini contract of the SP500 index;

FCE – CAC index 40;

FDAX – DAX index Germany;

FESX – Dow Jones Eurostock 50 Index;

FSMI – index FSMI Switzerland;

FSTX – Dow Jones Stokes 50;

FTSE – FTSE 100 index;

HSI – Hang Seng Index;

IBX – IBEX 35 index;

MC – mini contract of the SP MIDCAP 400 index;

MDAX – mini contract of the DAX Germany index;

MHI – mini contract of the Hang Seng Index;

NI – Nikkei 225 index Japan;

NKD – Nikkei 225 index Japan;

NQ – mini contract of the NASDAQ 100 index;

VIX – stock market volatility index SP 500 VOLATILITY;

YM – mini contract of the Dow Jones index;

RI – RTS index.