Dollar Fails to Find Direction in Forex Trading

The markets continue to feel the squeeze from Greece's fiscal troubles. U.S. equities lost their early gains to finish at their opening levels. The dollar was stronger most of the day but gave back the gains after the New York trading session. A lack of economic data releases did not allow for a particular direction to form in the markets. Therefore, traders were forced to rely on the weekend's events following the conclusion of IMF meetings in Washington. Traders remain skeptical following Greece's request to tap the EU / IMF bailout funds package. The prevailing view in the market is despite access to the new funds, Greece may still struggle to meet their debt payment schedule.

The EUR / USD was trading higher following the closing of the New York trading session when the currency pair rallied to a high of 1.3414 after opening the day at 1.3369. The GBP / USD was unchanged at 1.5469, as was the USD / CHF at 1.0730.

Today's trading should be influenced by economic releases and speeches. The key data releases for the day will be British CBI Realized Sales at 10:00 GMT and US CB Consumer Confidence at 14:00 GMT. Both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and ECB President Trichet are due to speak at separate events close to 14:00. The EUR / USD could fall further as market sentiment is clearly against the EUR. The next major support level for the pair rests at 1.3180.

Dollar Fails to Find Direction in Forex Trading

The markets continue to feel the squeeze from Greece's fiscal troubles. U.S. equities lost their early gains to finish at their opening levels. The dollar was stronger most of the day but gave back the gains after the New York trading session. A lack of economic data releases did not allow for a particular direction to form in the markets. Therefore, traders were forced to rely on the weekend's events following the conclusion of IMF meetings in Washington. Traders remain skeptical following Greece's request to tap the EU / IMF bailout funds package. The prevailing view in the market is despite access to the new funds, Greece may still struggle to meet their debt payment schedule.

The EUR / USD was trading higher following the closing of the New York trading session when the currency pair rallied to a high of 1.3414 after opening the day at 1.3369. The GBP / USD was unchanged at 1.5469, as was the USD / CHF at 1.0730.

Today's trading should be influenced by economic releases and speeches. The key data releases for the day will be British CBI Realized Sales at 10:00 GMT and US CB Consumer Confidence at 14:00 GMT. Both Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and ECB President Trichet are due to speak at separate events close to 14:00. The EUR / USD could fall further as market sentiment is clearly against the EUR. The next major support level for the pair rests at 1.3180.

East Sour Crude Futures: Contract Specification

The specifications for East sour crude futures are:
Trading Hours: Trading opens at 23:00 Sunday night London local time, 18:00 New York time and 06:00 Singapore time.

Units of Trading: Traded in lots of 1,000 barrels.

Minimum Price Fluctuation: The minimum fluctuation is one cent per barrel, or a tick value of $ 10.

Maximum Price Fluctuation: No limit to maximum fluctuation.

Contract Listings: 37 successive months are listed by the exchange. Contracts for the calendar year and quarter are also listed.

Last Trading Day: Trading ceases at 16:30 local Singapore time (08:30 GMT/09: 30 BST) on the last trading day two months prior to the contract month.

Clearing: The Clearing House guarantees the financial performance of all ICE Futures contracts registered with it by its clearing members. All ICE Futures Member companies are either members of the Clearing House or have a clearing agreement with a member who is a member of the Clearing House.

Settlement: Mid East sour crude futures is settled with cash against the mid-point of the bid / offer prices for the relevant contact month in Dubai.

Mid East Sour Crude Futures

East sour crude is the type of oil that is extracted from the Middle East countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq. This region has more than 60% of the world's proven oil reserves. The distinctive feature of this crude oil is that it is high in sulfur and other impurities. As a result, East sour crude is difficult to refine into various distillate products, especially unleaded gasoline.

East Sour Crude Futures: Basics

East sour crude futures are standardized contracts in which a buyer agrees to take delivery of a specific quantity of sour crude oil at a predetermined price and date from the seller. The East sour crude futures market enables traders to:

• hedge against adverse movements in oil prices. Companies and even individuals can benefit from hedging

• speculate on the movement of East sour crude oil prices. Crude oil futures are extremely popular among big financial institutions and retail traders alike.

East Sour Crude Futures: Trading

Trading of the Middle East sour crude futures takes place at the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). The ICE launched this derivative on May 21, 2007.
• Low liquidity
• Contracts with high spreads
• High risk

The ICE Middle East sour crude futures contract is an electronically traded product. The underlying asset of this futures contract is the crude oil sourced from Dubai, Oman and

Upper Zakum (originating in Abu Dhabi).

The ICE Middle East sour crude futures contract is cash-settled against the Platts Dubai physical cash price assessment. Platts Dubai is the leading benchmark for sour crude oil in the over-the-counter (OTC) markets.

With the start in trading in the ICE Middle East sour crude contract, the existing benchmark for the sour grade of crude and that for Brent and WTI traded together on the ICE's electronic trading platform. As a result, traders and speculators can trade spreads between the futures contracts for Brent, WTI and East sour crude and benefit from cross margins.

Trading unit:

Futures: Trading takes place in lots of 5,000 troy ounces.
Options: Trading takes place in lots of COMEX Division silver futures contract.
Trading hours: The open outcry session starts at 8:25 and closes at 13:25 New York time.
Price Quotation: The contract price is quoted in dollars and cents per troy ounce.
Maximum Price Fluctuation: Maximum price fluctuation is in multiples of one-half cent ($ 0.005) per troy ounce (equivalent to $ 25 per contract). For straddle or spread transactions, as well as the determination of settlement prices, the price changes are registered in multiples of one-tenth of a cent ($ 0.001) per troy ounce equivalent to $ 5 per contract. A fluctuation of one cent ($ 0.01) is equivalent to $ 50 per contract.

Maximum Daily Price Fluctuation:

Futures: Initial price limit of $ 1.50 above or below the preceding day's settlement price.
Options: There is no limit to price fluctuations in options.

Trading Futures on the Silver Exchange

Investment has been a core element of the silver market due to its appeal in the form of jewelry and ornaments. However, due to the small market size and speculative appeal, price volatility is the highest for silver among the major commodities. Thus, prices in the silver exchange fluctuate even with a little influx of capital. Speculators are attracted to this volatility, adding to the gyrations.

Trading in this precious metal is conducted at the two popular silver exchanges, the eCBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) and the COMEX (division of the New York Mercantile Exchange - NYMEX).

Silver Exchange: Factors Influencing Demand

Trading in the silver exchange depends entirely on demand for the previous metal. Silver prices are dependent on the demand from the following sources:

• Government reserves. The US government keeps silver in reserves and uses it for several purposes like minting coins. The government resorts to buying the metal in high quantities from the market when the reserves plummet, pushing up the demand.
• Industrial demand. Industries account for about 40% of the demand for silver. This metal is used in mirrors, electronics, batteries and photographic equipment, among other products.
• Demand from the ornament and silverware market.
• Demand from investors and speculators: This group accounts for 5% of the demand for silver. For example, purchases made by large investors can have an immediate impact on the demand and price of silver.

Silver Exchange: Trading Futures Contracts

A futures contract is a legal agreement standardized by a silver exchange. In the silver futures contract, a buyer agrees to receive the delivery of the metal on a future date at a predetermined price.

The features of silver trading in exchanges are:

• Silver is traded in mini and normal contracts. While the mini contract allows trading in 1,000 ounces, the normal contract involve trading in 5,000 ounces of silver. While the mini contract can be traded only in eCBOT, a normal contract is available at both the silver exchanges.
• The most active months for delivery in terms of volume and open interests are March, May, July, September and December.

• Exchanges have set position limits for silver trading.

Only about 1% of silver futures contracts traded every year result in delivery. Traders generally close their futures positions before the maturity date of their contracts.
Silver Exchange: Contract Specifications
The contract specifications for futures and options trading on the COMEX silver exchange are:

The advantages of online trading in gold

Commodity trading online has become much more of an interesting business endeavor with real time commodity quotes and live charting services. Internet technology has made the type of commodity trading services previously reserved for the deep pockets professional trader available to all.

Gold trading prices

Generally, as the price of gold increases, the price of the US dollar falls. This is why investors use gold trading as a way of balancing their profit and loss against the US dollar. Also, as gold tends to keep its purchasing power over time, investors may buy gold to balance the effects of inflation and currency value changes.