Petroleum is the world’s most widely used fuel while crude oil is the most actively traded commodity. The NYMEX light futures contract in particular, is the world's largest-volume futures contract traded on a physical commodity.

Besides crude oil, natural gas is also highly traded as it is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers. Trading energy futures allow investors to manage their exposure against fluctuation of energy prices and to explore investment opportunities. Energy commodities range from crude oil, natural gas, kerosene, gasoline and gas oil.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING ENERGY FUTURES:

 

• Crude Oil and Natural Gas Producers – to hedge against lower prices on their production.
• Refineries – to hedge against higher crude oil costs and against declines in refinery margins.
• Pipeline Shippers – to hedge against declining value of inventories.
• Wholesalers – to hedge against both contract purchases and contract sales.
• Retailers – to hedge against both inventories price decline and retail margin decline.
• End Users – to hedge against increasing prices on anticipated purchases.
• Freight Shippers – to hedge against increases in fuel surcharges.
• Speculators – to capitalize on price movements and speculative purchase and sales.

Metals are classified into precious metals and base metals and are used as raw materials in key industries globally, such as automobile, construction and shipping.

Businesses and individual traders trade metal futures mainly to profit from, or hedge themselves from price fluctuations.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING METAL FUTURES:

 

• Liquid financial instruments that are standardised by quality and quantity.
• Cost-efficient trading and risk management opportunities.
• Metal futures prices are widely and instantaneously disseminated, serving as world reference prices.
• Metal futures markets allow hedgers and investors to trade anonymously through futures brokers.
• Rigorous financial standards and surveillance procedures by the exchanges ensure safe, fair, and orderly markets

A stock index is a performance benchmark of a stock market, and each index consists of a different multiple to determine the price of the futures contracts. Index futures replicate the performance of an underlying stock market index.

They also double up as hedging and trading instruments that help to protect the investor against, or profit from stock market fluctuations without having to change his actual dollar investment in stocks. Dow Jones Index, Hang Seng Index, S&P 500, DAX, Nikkei 225 and China A50 are some of the high volume contracts that our clients can trade with you.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING STOCK INDEX FUTURES:

 

• Diversify risks by spreading over a basket of stocks.
• Hedge portfolio against price fluctuations.
• Flexibility of buying or selling first (shorting)
• Substantial liquidity in terms of large open interest, volume and tight bid/offer spreads.
• Online access to global futures exchanges, 24 hours daily throughout the week.
• Small investment outlay.
• Leverage trading on margin (if losses exceed initial deposits, investor needs to top up additional margin funds at short notice.

Trading in interest rate futures enables investors to hedge interest rate risks and in turn reduces the overall cost of borrowing and financing. Interest rate futures allow the buyer and seller to lock in the price of the interest-bearing asset for a future date.

Interest rate futures contracts include Treasury-bill futures, Treasury-bond futures and Eurodollar futures.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING INTEREST RATE FUTURES:

 

• Protection of interest rate related assets and liabilities from the impact of price volatility.
• Opportunities to profit from the accuracy of predictions on interest rates movements.

Some of the most popular currency contracts that are traded on CME through KGI (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. are the Euro, Japanese Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar and the Australian Dollar.

Financial institutions, investment managers, corporations and individual investors trade currency futures to manage risks and profit from the opportunities arising from exchange rate fluctuations.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING CURRENCY FUTURES:

 

• Our 24-hour dealing desk will be able to provide advice and market information across products ranging from Agriculture, Energy and Metals. Whether you are new to the commodity futures market or a seasoned professional, we have the trading tools, services, and unique market insights to assist you with your trading.
• Access to the world’s largest and most liquid financial market.
• Opportunities to trade beyond local markets.
• Manage risks against foreign exchange rates fluctuations.
• Capture potential opportunities accompanying currency rate fluctuations.
• Transparent pricing compared to spot FX.

Option buyers pay a premium upfront for the right to buy or sell an underlying futures contract at a specified strike price on or before a predetermined future date. The buyer is not obligated to buy or sell the contract if it is not profitable.

FEATURES OF OPTIONS

• Call Option: The buyer has the right to buy the underlying at a specified strike price on a future date. You would buy a call option if you can predict the price of a future going up.
• Put Option: The buyer has the right to sell the underlying at a specified strike price on a future date. If you believe the futures price is going to move lower, you would buy a put option.
• Strike Price: The price which you have set to buy or sell the underlying futures contract. Most traders do not convert the option. Instead, they will close out the option position and collect the profits.
• Time to Expiration: The time frame before the option contract ceases to exist. Generally, the more time an option has to expiration, the more expensive it will be.

 

BENEFITS OF TRADING OPTIONS:

• Flexibility to tailor to your desired exposure and risk for an anticipated move in the options price.
• Ability to gain leverage without committing to a trade.
• Relatively lower risk and volatility.

For the list of options tradable at KGI (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., please contact us here.