Copper Futures Trading is one of the most popular vehicles in the industrial metals market. Copper is used in a wide variety of markets such as construction, plumbing, manufacturing and architecture. With such a wide array of usages, trading copper offers many opportunities for gain. More and more investors are looking to raw commodities as trading vehicles as they provide more liquidity and volatility within their respective markets. Trading raw commodities as futures contracts also allows for better price transparencies.
Copper is usually a great indicator of economic growth within a region. As the demand for copper rises, the more valuable the commodity becomes given its vital contributions to industrial and urban development. Worldwide copper consumption has been on the steady rise since 2011, with China being the world’s top copper consumer. Industrial copper producing companies use the futures market to hedge against losses and for price mitigation. Investors generally use the copper futures market to leverage their capital against price fluctuations to generate returns on their investments.
A copper futures contract represents 25,000 pounds of copper. Standard trading hours operate from Sunday through Friday beginning at 6:00 p.m. until 5:15 p.m. the following day Central Standard Time, allowing a 23 hour trading platform. The 45 minute break allows for the close out on the previous day’s results. Trading in copper futures requires paying close attention to market fluctuations and remaining active on developing markets. Because copper moves within the market at high volatility, neglecting a position for even a short period of the day can be very costly. Below are a few of the most popular exchanges copper futures trade on:
