You are on page 1of 14

Trading

Understanding
the ups and downs
of financial markets
Taking your first step in financial markets can seem daunting, but with a wealth of resources and platforms
available to retail investors, they have become more accessible than ever. In this ebook, we guide you through
the fundamentals you need to launch your own journey into the world of trading.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Sponsored by
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
Understanding
the Market Basics
As long as humans have had 116.00
goods and assets to trade, USD-JPY X-Rate 115.08
there have been markets. 114.00

Even in today’s world, where 112.00


financial markets can appear
110.00
highly complex to the
average person, the market 108.00
system boils down to the 106.00
same essential thing: buyers
and sellers coming together 104.00

and wanting the best prices 102.00


for the most profit. 2018 2019 2020 2021 Source: Bloomberg

The majority of non-professionals 120


Generic 1st ‘CL’ Future
(known as “retail investors”) who
participate in modern financial 110

markets prefer a “buy and hold”


100
strategy – investing in stocks,
bonds or funds for the purposes 90
88.11
of long-term value growth. History
has shown that this is an effective 80

way of growing wealth, provided


70
investors make solid choices and
stick with them, perhaps making
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug
small adjustments from time to time.
2021 2022 Source: Bloomberg

History also showed that markets


Over the course of four years, the US Dollar-Yen rate (top) was relatively stable, moving
go through regular cycles within a narrow range. By contrast, crude oil prices (bottom) recently experienced a
– periodically seeing extended period of volatility.
periods of growth (known as “bull
markets”) and decline (known For the retail investor with a long- Many investors succumb to panic
as “bear markets”). Within these term buy-and-hold portfolio, these and sell, only to regret it later when
extended cycles are smaller mini- cycles can be a psychological the growth cycle returns.
cycles, which can play out over challenge. It can be difficult to
months, weeks, days, and even watch and do nothing when the So, is there anything investors can
hours. The more regular these value of your investments has do, apart from just sit and wait?
cycles are, and the larger the peaks dropped 10%, 20%, or worse – as
and troughs in the market, the more happened this year, or during the The answer is yes.
“volatile” a market is said to be. Global Financial Crisis in 2008.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
Understanding
the Market Basics

Short-term advantages CFDs offer several advantages to If you are an inexperienced trader,
retail investors: however, there are several steps you
Long-term investments make should take before jumping in.
financial sense, but investors can • You can trade many different
also use short-term trading to markets without owning them Before you begin
their advantage. Allocating a personally (stocks, indexes, foreign
small percentage of investable exchange, commodities, funds, Throwing money into CFD trading
capital to trading instruments cryptocurrencies). before you understand the markets
such as Contracts for Difference • The initial stake for trading CFDs you want to trade, and how
(CFDs) offers specific opportunities can be much smaller than on derivatives work, is like climbing into
not available to buy-and-hold the underlying market value. By a car for the first time and trying to
investors. employing “leverage” (see next drive without taking lessons.
section), CFDs enable an investor
Short-term trading can: to put up only a fraction of the Firstly, consume every possible
total contract value. education resource you can find.
• Smooth out the volatility of a • CFDs enable investors to create One such platform - Vantage’s
long-term portfolio. trading opportunities from both Academy - contains a wealth of
• Hedge against unexpected rising and falling prices, and high information and ideas, ranging from
movements in portfolio holdings. market volatility. analysis to markets news, to free
• CFD prices move in lockstep with webinars and trading guides. Take
CFDs are an example of a the underlying market, so they are the time to absorb as much of this
“derivative.” These are contracts simple to track. as possible and get into the habit
that derive their value from an • Some CFD trading platforms of following business and financial
underlying asset. If you trade a CFD enable potential investors to news every day.
on Microsoft, you are not buying practice trading for free before
and selling Microsoft shares, but committing their own money. Secondly, learn the terms of trading
a contract of which price moves and use a Demo trading account
up and down in tandem with the In essence, trading CFDs is to get familiar with your trading
Microsoft share price. straightforward. You Buy a CFD environment and how markets
contract if you think a price will rise function, whether you’re using
and Sell a contract if you think the ProTrader, MetaTrader, or another
price will fall. platform.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
Understanding
the Market Basics

Learn to Read the Charts 1960.00


Gold Spot $/OZ
O 1736.93 H 1738.06 L 1735.45 C 1735.67 +0.47 (+0.03%)
This Gold price chart can look like 1920.00
a confusing jumble to a newcomer, 1735.67 0.20 1735.87
but once learned, it can be 1880.00
relatively simple to understand.
1840.00
Near the top is a row of six numbers:
1800.00

O – The price of gold when trading


1760.00
Opened for the day.
1735.67
H – The Highest price that day. 1720.00
L – The Lowest price that day.
C – Current price (or Closing price 1680.00
for previous trading days).
May Jun Jul Aug Source: Bloomberg

The number to the right of the


Closing price shows how much the
price moved up (green) or down these small variations from the Spot
(red) that day (in this example, the price, and Spreads vary from asset
price has increased US$0.47). The to asset.
number in brackets at the far right
High
expresses that price movement as a The price graph dominates the
Close
percentage. chart. This particular example,
comprising a series of red and
Beneath that row is a set of three green boxes, is called a candlestick
figures: (or candle) chart, and is the most Open
commonly used by traders. Each
1735.67 – is the “Bid” price if you box represents a day’s trading and Low
want to Sell a Gold contract. can be interpreted as shown. (When
1735.87 – the “Ask” price to Buy a the price drops, the box would be
Gold contract. red and the Close-Open positions
0.18 – is the “Spread” between would be reversed.) In the next section, we’ll use the
those two prices. The “Spot” price example of Stocks and Index
(the actual price of an ounce The red and green bar below the markets to show how to set up
of gold at that very moment) is price chart shows the Trading trades, use leverage, protect
halfway between the Bid and Ask Volume that day (the amount of yourself from risk, and use CFDs to
prices. Brokers make money from shares that changed hands). hedge your existing share portfolio.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Stocks & Indexes
- Setting Up Your Trades
The stock market is the 185.50
most popular entry point
185.00
into financial trading for
184.50
retail investors. Most of
184.00
us understand the basic
183.50
concept: a company sells
shares to investors, and the 183.00

price of those shares rises 182.50

and falls based on how 182.00

investors feel about that 181.50

company’s prospects.
10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00

If you’re buying companies for their


long-term prospects, why bother To start off, focus on companies, broad (like the Standard & Poor’s
with short-term trading? countries, or sectors that you 500) or more sector-focused (like
already know something about, the Nasdaq). Index investing has
To get a different perspective, or which interest you. Read up on several advantages: it spreads
look at this graph on the right of them, follow news about them, risk (when one company or sector
a company’s one-day share price study analyst reports, learn about is dropping, others may be rising),
movement. The stock opened the sectors in which they operate, reflects market momentum (positive
at about 184.75 and closed at and familiarise yourself about the sentiment in one company or sector
about 184.25. For the buy-and- factors that affect their share prices: often spills over to others), and
hold investor, this is a small and earnings reports, industry outlooks, saves a lot of time (index investors
insignificant change, since that government policy, international don’t need to research specific
position is being held for the future. trade, supply chains, labor issues, companies). Indexes have also
executive reputation, analyst historically delivered better long-
But if you were to look at the swings in ratings … all these can impact term returns than managed funds.
price during the day – a steep drop, market sentiment.
followed by a recovery, with several Once you’re familiar with the assets
peaks and troughs in between. For It cannot be overstated how you want to trade, spend a little
a CFD trader, that’s at least two important market knowledge is. Far time on your Demo account to get
opportunities to generate income too many new traders lose money a feel of the market.
from a stock which daily price would because they fail to understand
be reported as “little changed.” the market. The Vantage education Next, you should consider
page is an excellent starting point. developing a trading plan and
Getting started stick to it. This is essential for every
Alternatively, many traders invest market you want to trade, because
Of all markets, stocks are the most in Indexes or Index Funds, which it defines what you want to achieve,
common to follow. mirror an index. An index can be how to achieve it, and also your

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Stocks & Indexes
- Setting Up Your Trades

exit strategy when things go


wrong. Sticking to your plan helps Answering the following questions can help you draft
you to avoid the panic decisions a plan:
of emotional trading, which is a
trader’s worst enemy. The most – Why am I trading? (“To hedge my other investments, become a
successful traders are usually the ful-time trader...?) Set realistic targets.
most disciplined. – Which markets will I trade, and how much do I know about them?
– What’s the total size of my investment pool? (This should only be
Second, prepare a trading diary, an amount you can afford to live without.)
and keep a record of every trade, – What’s the maximum percentage of this money I will invest in
profit and loss. This helps you gain each trade?
perspective when things might – What’s my target percentage outcome from each trade?
appear to be going badly (for – What percentage of each trade can I accept losing?
example, two failed trades in a day
The following sections will guide you through the process of trading
might take an emotional toll, but
stocks/index CFDs, and these basics apply to other markets, too.
seeing that you’ve made a profit
over the past month will ease the
pain).

Setting up trades (preferably less) of your total trading Be sensible with leverage. If you
fund to any one deal. don’t protect your trade, losses can
Before making a trade, answer a spiral out of control very quickly if
few key questions. Setting margins: It’s extremely the market moves against you.
important to understand the
Long or Short? First, decide if you concept of “leverage” and “margin” Loss protection: Use Stop and Limit
think the price of your chosen asset before you start trading derivatives Orders to protect your money; these
will rise or fall. If you think it will rise, such as CFDs. place a fence around your trade
you Buy a CFD (“go Long”). If you and ensure your losses cannot
think it will fall, you Sell (“go Short”). A 1:20 margin means you must exceed a certain amount. Stop
invest $1 for every $20 of the total Orders trigger the closing of a
Allocation: Decide how much you deal value. For example, if you buy position at a pre-determined level.
can afford to lose. As a general CFDs equivalent to $2,000 worth Limit Orders lock in profits by closing
rule, allocate no more than 10% of Shopify shares, you must commit trades at a pre-set price (this is to
$100 of your own money. safeguard against volatility).

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Stocks & Indexes
- Setting Up Your Trades

Making trades They are keen to minimize any


losses, so they enter a Stop Loss AAPL, TRADING
Now we’re ready to put it all order that will close the trade if the
SELL BUY
together with a trading example: price drops to 167.45, limiting their 167.24 0.41 167.65
potential loss to $40.
Joe and Holly are new to trading. MARKET LIMIT STOP
They believe Apple Inc. shares will Using CFDs to Hedge: If Joe and
rise after an upcoming earnings Holly already own Apple shares in a 167.85 Ask + 20
announcement, so they decide long-term portfolio, they could use Absolute Ticks
to buy 100 Apple CFDs, which are CFDs to offset any downside risk.
trading at 167.65. Purchasing 100 For example, if they were concerned Quantity

actual shares would cost $16,765. that poor earnings might impact 100 40.00
With a 1:20 margin, the trade will the Apple share price in the short
Lots $ Risk
require $838.25 of their capital term, they could Sell Apple CFDs,
(167.75 x 100 / 20). which would take advantage of a
decline, and balance out any short- Take Profit 5 Stop Loss
They are initially targeting term loss in their portfolio. 200 Pips 40
conservative gains while they learn
the market, so they enter a Limit In the next section, we look at 169.85 Price 167.45
Order at 20 ticks above the buy trading Foreign Exchange, how to 200.00 $ 40.00
price (1 tick = $0.01). This will close monitor the markets, and offer more
1.99 % 0.40
the trade automatically if the Apple essential trading tips.
share price rises 20 cents to 169.85, Source: Vantage

and they will make $0.10 per tick


from the increase. So their potential
profit is:
$0.10 per tick x 20 x 100 lots = $200

The information is intended for educational purposes only. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
FX - Trading the World’s
Biggest Market
Foreign exchange (FX) is Understanding Rates
the world’s biggest market. FOREX
About $5-6 trillion worth of Exchange rates are quoted in pairs,
involving three-letter codes – most Symbol Last Chg Chg%
currency changes hands
every day. Most of it flows of us are familiar with major ones
like EUR, USD, or AUD. EURNZD 1.61984 0.00000 0.00%
among financial institutions,
bundled into large “Lots” EURPLN 4.74802 0.00000 0.00%
The currency quoted first is called
of 100,000 units each. the Base – this is the currency you
Previously, the size of these are Buying (or Selling, if going Short). EURSEK 10.63248 -0.00064 -0.01%
Lots placed forex trading
beyond the average investor, The second currency in the pair is
EURSGD 1.38848 0.00011 0.0

but the emergence of called the Quote.


EURTRY 18.03494 0.00060 0.00%
online platforms has made
the market much more So, if you believe that the British
GBPAUD 1.69789 -0.00039 -0.02%
accessible and popular pound is going to strengthen
among retail traders. against the Australian dollar, for GBPCAD 1.52330 0.00010 0.01
example, you will buy the GBP/ Source: Vantage

Currency trading is not quite as AUD pair – and Sell the same pair
simple as the transactions we’ve if you think the AUD is going to A typical view of currency pairs
all done at the money exchange get stronger (using the same Stop whereby the first three letters
represent the base currency, and the
booth. First, it’s important to and Limit protection strategies we
last three letters represent the quote
understand the market. discussed in Section II). currency.

There are three basic types of The vast majority of the world’s
contracts in the forex market: forex trading involves seven (including the Hungarian forint and
currencies known as the Majors: Turkish lira). Trading “illiquid” Exotic
Spot: Transactions involving the the US dollar (USD), euro (EUR), pairs can mean spreads are wider,
immediate exchange of two Japanese yen (JPY), British pound and the markets are slower moving.
currencies. (GBP), Canadian dollar (CAD), Swiss
franc (CHF), and Australian dollar Like every other market, currency
Forward: An agreement to buy or (AUD). Trading in these pairs is rates are driven by supply and
sell a set amount of currency, at a highly “liquid”, which means there demand, and by confidence. If
set rate, on a set future date (or a is always a high volume of money the level of investor confidence in
date range). flowing in and out of the market. a country’s economic prospects
One rung below the Majors are the grows, its currency is likely to
Futures: A version of a forward Minors (including the Singapore and strengthen, and vice versa.
contract that is legally binding. Hong Kong dollars), then Exotics

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
FX - Trading the World’s
Biggest Market

Pips

Forex rates tend to move in very


small increments, which is why prices
feature so many decimal places, and Pros & cons of trading forex CFDs
the Lots traded on the market are so
large. Pros:
– Markets are open 24 hours, which means you can trade even on
Each movement in value is called the weekends.
a Pip, which is usually the fourth – Trade is highly liquid.
decimal place. So, if the euro – CFD traders can commit much smaller amounts of capital to
strengthens from USD 0.99259 to USD each trade compared with the open market.
0.99269, that movement is called one – Markets tend to be less vulnerable to manipulation.
pip. The main exception among the – Forex markets are fast-moving, offering potential for quick
Majors is the USD/JPY pair, for which returns.
a pip is the second decimal place.
Cons:
This is important to know, because – High volatility means traders need to be alert and nimble.
when trading forex CFDs each pip – Market is weighted in favor of large institutional traders.
of movement will correspond to a
certain gain or loss in your trade.

GBPAUD D Default GBPAUD, TRADING


Great Britain Pound vs Australian Dollar . 1D . Vantage
1.79000 SELL BUY
O 1.69828 H 1.69835 L 1.69783 C 1.69790 -0.00473 (-0.28%)
1.78000 1.69790 0.00025 1.69815
1.69790 0.00025 1.69815
1.77000
Volume 133 MARKET LIMIT STOP
1.76000
Order Price
1.75000

1.74000 1.69815 Ask

1.73000 Absolute Ticks

1.72000 Quantity
1.71000 0.01
1.70000
1.69790 Lots
1.69000
Take Profit Stop Loss
May Jun Jul Aug Sep Source: Vantage

A forex price and trading ticket screen. Round-the-clock trading and a highly liquid market present attractive opportunities for forex CFD traders.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
FX - Trading the World’s
Biggest Market

USDRUB
Preparing to trade 120

If you’re new to forex trading, it is 110


recommended to start with the
major pairs. Major pairs are less 100

likely to deliver unwelcome surprises,


90
and it’s easier to keep track of the
factors that influence changes in
80
rates.
70.9600
70
As always, knowledge, education,
and discipline are the keys to Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
success. Tap into Vantage’s forex
2021 2022
education resources before Source: Bloomberg

committing your money.

Make a plan – Next, decide how to The impact of market shocks: after months of stability, the invasion of Ukraine triggered a
plunge in the Russian Rouble against the US Dollar.
plan your trades. Forex traders, like
all financial-market professionals,
employ two approaches:
to changes in policy (interest rates, Any surprises can boost or hurt
1) Fundamental money supply, bond-buying) often demand for that country’s currency.
Traders use real-world information push currencies higher or lower. Keep these dates in your calendar.
about their market to inform their Informed traders who track
decisions. For instance, if the – Credit ratings: These are scores economic news closely can often
Australian government announces assigned to countries by agencies pre-empt these announcements.
disappointing trade figures, traders such as Moody’s and Fitch. The
might Short the Australian dollar score is meant to gauge each – News: Keep abreast of political
(e.g. Buy USD/AUD CFD contracts). country’s ability to pay its debts. A and economic news. Markets
positive or negative adjustment in move on trade tensions, political
There are a range of forces that these ratings is often reflected in developments, military conflict,
move money markets, and it’s exchanges rates. decisions by major institutions like
important to know what they are the World Bank or IMF. Staying
and to keep track of them. They – Economic data: Governments informed helps to shield you against
include: release regular scheduled market shocks such as the war in
announcements and data: GDP, Ukraine, which sent the Russian
– Central banks: Central-bank inflation, manufacturing, trade, etc. ruble plummeting in March 2022.
policy is a key factor affecting
exchange rates. Market reactions

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
FX - Trading the World’s
Biggest Market

2) Technical
Traders employ mathematical
models to identify past patterns in
the behavior of a market and use
those patterns to spot unfolding
trends and predict future direction.

Most professional traders use


a combination of these two
approaches. Brokers such as
Vantage have integrated solutions
like MT4 and MT5 that offer a range
of technical tools that can be
applied to price charts, such as
Moving Averages, and the Relative
Strength Index. Though they could
seem complex, use your Demo
account to learn the basic signals
these tools offer.

Practice for a while, combining


your observations of fundamentals
with technical signals to build your
market experience.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Commodities
- Making the World Go Round
Until recently, the trade in Advantages of trading commodity prices are a defining
commodities was all physical commodity CFDs feature), traders can consider
– the buying and selling of diversifying their portfolios to
food, materials, and fuel Diversification: Historically, capture potential price gains.
commodities have a low correlation
that has sustained human
with other markets (meaning price What moves the markets?
civilization for thousands
movements mirror each other
of years. These days, most less frequently). This makes them Naturally, supply and demand lie
commodity transactions a useful tool in balancing your at the heart of commodity pricing,
exist only on paper for the portfolio. more transparently perhaps than
purposes of speculating on other markets.
prices, or hedging future Volatility: Commodity prices are
costs. The vast majority of historically more volatile than stocks There are two stark recent examples
modern traders have no and forex (coffee, for example, has of this: the plunge in crude oil prices
desire to take delivery of had a volatility range of 11-90% in the early months of the Covid-19
25 tons of copper or 5,000 over the past decade, compared pandemic as countries went
bushels of soybeans. to 4-15% for the Dollar Index). While into lockdown, people stopped
this is a headache for long-term commuting, and planes were
Commodities are split into two investors, for CFD traders it offers grounded; and the surge in wheat
general categories: Hard (things ample opportunities to benefit from prices after the invasion of Ukraine
that are mined and extracted large daily price swings. (Russia and Ukraine accounted
from the earth, like metals and oil) for more than a quarter of global
and Soft (things that are grown or Hedging: In today’s inflationary wheat supply before the war).
farmed, like wheat or orange juice). environment (of which rising

Most trading comes in the form Generic 1st ‘W’ Future


1300
of derivatives that are based on
1200
current prices or speculation on
1100
future prices. Like forex, commodity
markets trade in very large contract 1000

sizes (1,000 barrels of oil, 5,000 900


bushels of wheat) that place them 83012
800
beyond the reach of the average 700
investor. Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Source: Bloomberg

By using CFDs, however, retail


traders could enter these highly In March 2022, wheat prices surged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatened
global supplies – a stark example of the power of supply and demand.
liquid markets with smaller capital.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Commodities
- Making the World Go Round

For a new trader, the challenge contain clues to future prices. Why which tends to force a repricing in
is to learn what factors influence did record crude prices prompt U.S. supplies, forcing prices down.
supply and demand in the markets Indonesia to ban palm oil exports?
you want to trade. What drives the What effect will a collapsing Weather
biggest market players to buy or sell Chinese real estate market have Which countries are the largest
over 29 billion futures contracts per on the price of copper? The suppliers of which commodities? Are
year.1 commodity world is a complex they being affected by droughts,
web of intricate links – learning floods? Traders in agricultural
It’s worth remembering that markets about them increases your commodities keep a very close eye
respond to perceptions of future effectiveness as a trader. on weather reports and forecasts
supply and demand, not necessarily during key crop periods.
actual supply and demand. The dollar
Commodities are priced in U.S. Geopolitics
The supply cycle dollars. If the dollar is strong, Labor strikes, military conflict, trade
Prices of most commodities move commodities become more disputes, and political strife can all
in a broad long-term cycle: strong expensive in other currencies, impact supply lines between among
supply forces prices down –> lower major trading nations.
prices discourage production –>
reduced production cuts supply –> Last Price
DOLLAR INDEX SPOT (R1)
low supply drive up prices –> rising 220 Bloomberg Commodity Index ( L1)
111.863
prices encourage production, 200 110
and so on. While this information 100
180
doesn’t impact daily price changes
90
so much, it pays to know where a 160
commodity stands in the cycle. 80
140
70
Consumer demand 120
114.8169 60
Organizations and governments
100
produce hefty amounts of data on 50
consumer demand, and traders pay 80
40
attention to these because they
60 30
flag long-term trends that affect
prices. 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Source: Bloomberg

The world economy


Follow the release of The US dollar tends to have an inverse relationship with commodity prices. In the chart
above, the Dollar Index, which tracks the value of the Dollar against a basket of foreign
macroeconomic data, which can currencies, increases in value as commodity prices decrease.

1 Source: FIA

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round
CFDs on Commodities
- Making the World Go Round

What markets can I trade?

The Vantage platform offers CFDs


on a range of major commodities:

Energy: Crude Oil, Natural Gas,


Gasoline
Precious Metals: Gold, Silver,
Palladium, Platinum
Base Metals: Copper
Soft Commodities: Cocoa, Coffee,
Cotton, Orange Juice, Soybeans,
Sugar, Wheat

Each of these markets has its


own unique supply-demand
characteristics. Professional
commodity traders tend to
specialize, because the array of
factors that affect each market can
be complex. So, it’s worth selecting
one or two commodities and
learning as much as you can about
them, rather than throwing yourself
into generalized trading.

Refer to https://www.bloomberg.com/notices/sponsor for Sponsor Content terms and conditions

CFDs are complex instruments and come with high risks of losing capital rapidly due to leverage. You should seek independent advice from qualified expert, and be fully aware of the risks
involved, before undertaking any transactions in CFDs. You should also assess and consider truthfully whether trading CFDs and/or other financial instruments is appropriate for you in light
of your experience, objectives, financial resources among other circumstances. You are advised to read carefully and understand the legal documents at www.vantagemarkets.com, before
making a commitment to trade with us.

1. 2. 3. 4.
Understanding CFDs on Stocks FX – Trading CFDs on Commodities Back to Homepage
the Market & Indexes – Setting Up the World’s – Making the World
Basics Your Trades Biggest Market Go Round

You might also like