Guide du négoce du pétrole : Stratégies clés pour réussir sur le marché de l'énergie

Commodities are basic goods that are traded in large quantities around the world. Generally, commodities are divided into four major categories: metals (such as aluminium, copper, gold, lead, nickel, silver, and zinc), energy (natural gas, coal, and petroleum), agricultural products (olive oil, cocoa, coffee, and sugar), and livestock and meat. Depending on the commodity and the trader, commodities can be traded on the spot or as futures. 

Commodities are thus very important for investors and traders looking to get into other markets and diversify their portfolios. Another reason for increased interest in commodity trading is the fact that the prices of commodities tend to move in the opposite direction of the stocks. So, investors look for commodity returns when the stock market is highly volatile. Additionally, commodities’ price movements depend on many factors and are prone to price fluctuations, making them perfect for speculative trading via CFDs. The goal of speculative trading using commodities is to make a profit from market volatility by accurately speculating the price change. This can only be done when the trader has all the necessary information about the commodity.

One of the most important commodities in the world today is oil. Oil or petroleum is a naturally occurring substance that runs our industries, motor vehicles, and many more man-made inventions. Oil trading involves buying and selling oil and its derivative products from oil companies worldwide. Oil is not found in every part of the world, so world governments rely on these sources and the owners of these sources to keep their countries running. This is why it is a heavily traded commodity, but unlike other commodities, it is not feasible to physically buy, store, and sell oil. This is where CFD trading comes in. 

Using CFD trading, traders can enter the world of oil trading and expand their portfolios without owning the commodity. Traders conduct oil trades through online platforms of their choice. Several trading platforms are available online, and all offer unique features. A trader must select the trading platform with utmost consideration, as the smooth execution depends on it. There are quite some factors to consider before choosing a trading platform, such as offered asset classes, platform fees and charges, risk management tools, and more. 

CFD trading via any platform works best for an experienced trader with expertise in trading and also deep information about oil trading and the factors that affect it. As a beginner trader, we suggest you build your CFD and oil trading knowledge and practice on a demo account before jumping to the real deal. This will not only help you build confidence in the matter but also help you manage your finances closely. To help you get started on the journey, in this article, we will take you through everything that you need to know about oil trading, understanding oil futures, and much more. 

What Is Oil Trading?

Oil trading is buying or selling oil and its related products. These trades are conducted through an online platform where traders place orders to buy or sell oil. Traders begin by making an account and entering their details. Their accounts are then verified through email or identity verification. Next, traders choose the asset class that they want to trade, which in this case is oil. They place their orders, add tinkering like stop-loss orders, take profit orders, and hit execute. Through these platforms, they can place their trades, monitor them, build a trading portfolio, and visualise the price movements in real-time. Thus, a trading platform is important to the trader’s arsenal. 

Oil trading includes the trading of crude oil and all the products derived from it. These may include fuels like gasoline, diesel, kerosene, propane, jet fuel, and heating oil, solvents like paint thinner, engine degreaser, and laboratory chemicals, lubricants like motor oil, waxes, and asphalt, and petrochemicals like polyolefins (plastics), aromatics, and synthetic resins. Trading all these products comes under oil trading and is one of the world’s most famous types of trading. 

As explained, oil is an expensive and popular commodity. It is not easy to buy and sell physical barrels of oil. Therefore, oil and its derivatives are most famously traded as CFDs. In this case, the trader does not need to buy or sell oil barrels physically and can still participate in oil trading and make a profit. Futures is a different way of trading oil and probably one of the most famous. 

Understanding Oil Futures

A crude oil futures contract is a legally binding buying order between a buyer and a seller. It states that the buyer will buy the determined crude oil units in the future. A futures contract is an interesting and highly speculative trading strategy. It can trade any commodity, allowing traders to diversify their portfolios. Mostly, each futures contract represents 1000 barrels of oil. These contracts can then be used for leverage trading and more. Based on the contract, when the time comes for the contract to be settled, the traders can either physically trade the barrels of oil or settle the contract in price payments. It all depends on the contract and the traders. 

One of the most critical characteristics of oil trading is its price. The oil trading market is highly volatile, mainly because quite a few factors affect its price. This is why trading in futures can be risky. Since futures are legally binding documents, traders can not change their minds when prices fluctuate. This is why it is very important to fully understand the concepts of oil trading and all the factors that affect its price before jumping into trading oil, even via futures. 

How to Trade Crude Oil Futures

Crude oil futures is a trading strategy which allows traders to trade oil and derivatives through legally binding contracts. Here is a step-by-step process that you can use to trade crude oil futures:

Step 1: Choose a Trading Platform 

The first step is choosing a trading platform. Various platforms are available to traders, but not all offer futures trading because of the high stakes. So, before settling on a platform, make sure it offers futures trading for oil and its derivatives. 

Step 2: Set Up the Account

The next step is to set up your future trading account. Each platform requires an identity check and platform fee, so you should be aware of these costs before entering a trade. 

Step 3: Set Up Margins 

In futures trading, the margin is the minimum amount of money the trader must pay to open a futures contract. Your margin will be calculated based on your trade. 

Step 4: Place an Order

Place a futures order and ensure all the information in the contract is correct. Double-check your details, the details of the buyer, the contract duration and expiration date, and more. This will ensure that the order you have placed is according to your strategy. Sometimes, the trader can change the contract, but it will depend on the parties’ mutual agreement. 

Step 5: Mitigate Risk 

As futures trading involves legally binding documents, mitigating risk can be challenging. The best mitigation technique that you can use is diversifying your portfolio. Oil trading is a highly volatile market, so you should never put all your capital in one place. We suggest trading and investing in diverse asset classes so that profit from another can minimise the loss if one asset class is plundering into a loss. 

Step 6: Monitor the Position 

Finally, after setting up and executing your futures contract and mitigating your potential risk, the last step is to monitor your position closely. It is recommended that the trader monitor the market closely and enforce any risk mitigation techniques that will help minimise losses and keep the trading position afloat. 

Tools for Oil Trading

The platforms where oil trading is conducted offer several tools to help traders make decisions. There are several popular tools for oil trading, and here we look at them:

Technical Analysis Charts

These charts visualise price movements and help traders make variable decisions in seconds. These charts relay real-time price changes, so a trader monitoring them can quickly adjust the trades. 

Fundamental Data Feeds

These data feeds provide real-time world news and historical data analytics that can be very helpful to traders. They offer information on all the latest news on the factors that can affect the price of an asset and are, therefore, very handy to keep on the screen. 

Risk Management Features

These features help you effectively manage your risk. They may include stop-loss and take-profit orders. These tools can help you minimise risk and potentially exit a trade when conditions become undesirable. This is very important, as oil trading can be very dynamic in nature. 

Risks of Oil Trading

Each type of trade comes with its own risks, and here we look at the risks involved with oil trading:

Volatility

The biggest risk in oil trading is volatility. Many factors affect oil prices, making it highly prone to volatility, and because of this, traders are at a higher risk of loss than other commodity traders. 

Leverage-related Losses 

Leverage allows the trader to hold larger positions with small capital and exposes the trader to a higher risk ratio. Many factors influence oil prices, and changes in their price can cause leveraged trades to suffer significant losses. 

Market Dynamics

The oil market can be highly dynamic within a short period of time. If not monitored closely, traders holding short-term positions can be at a high risk of incurring losses. 

Any trader interested in trading oil should gain as much experience as possible by self-studying, analysing historical data, and practising on demo accounts. 

FAQs About Oil Trading

How do I start trading oil? 

If you are a beginner looking to get into oil trading, start with a demo account. Trading platforms offer A demo account where traders can practice their skills and learn in an environment that mimics the real world. In this way, the trader will learn how to use the platform, what different technical analysis tools are available, and how to use them. Most importantly, the trader will learn how trades work and how world news can affect the price. All these points are important for a beginner trader to understand before entering the real world of trading. 

What are the main factors influencing oil prices? 

Several factors influence oil prices, including geopolitical tensions and news, supply and demand, global unrest, policy changes, and world politics. These factors are hard to control and directly affect oil prices. 

How does oil trading work with CFDs?

Oil commodities can be traded through CFD trading, where traders specialise in precise differences without owning the commodity. This type of trading is desirable among traders looking to diversify their portfolios and gain access to the oil trading market. Traders can choose from many online oil trading platforms, but the decision must be made with caution and due diligence. 

Oil is one of the most famous commodities to be traded today. It involves buying and selling oil and its derivative products from oil companies worldwide, and the two top ways of trading are CFDs and futures. Through both of these methods, oil is not physically bought and sold, attracting many traders towards these trading methods. Oil prices are affected by several different factors, including supply and demand, global unrest, policy changes, and world politics. This means the oil market is highly volatile and a great candidate for CFD and futures trading. 

A crude oil futures contract is a legally binding buying order between a buyer and a seller, which states that the buyer will buy the determined crude oil units at the determined date in the future. A futures contract is an interesting and highly speculative trading strategy. It can trade any commodity, allowing traders to diversify their portfolios. In any case, if you are a beginner trader, we recommend starting your oil trading journey on a demo account, which will let you practice oil trading in a mimicked environment and prepare you for trading in the real world in no time.