BROKER SERVICES AND PLATFORM

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1 BROKER SERVICES AND PLATFORM A broker is an individual who executes buy and sell orders and get commission in the form of SPREAD (I will talk about SPREAD in the subsequent lessons). You trade through your broker. You buy from your broker at a price and sell to him again at another price and that s all. In order to buy or sell Crude Oil, you need to set up an account with a broker. Most of the brokers that allow currency trading can also make available commodity trading. In other words, A FOREX broker can also make available CRUDE OIL trading since both paper contracts (you don t take possession of what you are trading). In a nutshell, FOREX brokers are also called CRUDE Oil brokers. You don t physically need to visit a broker to open an account. It does not matter which country your broker is based. Money can always be transferred between your trading account and your local bank (Domiciliary account)easily. There is no special procedure of opening an account, you just move straight to the site of a broker and sign up for a trading account (which could be a DEMO account or a REAL account) QUALITIES OF A GOOD BROKER Low spread No commission (must not charge any other money apart from the money made from spread) 5

2 Universal account allowing you to place either a mini or regular trade from the same account. A good trading platform with lot of functionality A reliable service along with good customer care Prompt execution of orders immediately it is placed Make sure your broker is reputable and been around for some time. THE PLATFROM A good functional trading platform is more important than many other factors. A trading platform is a software package provided by the broker which contains charts, prices, news, tool bars and a whole lot of other information which will allow you to make informed decisions and place trades directly from the PLATFORM. The platform is easy way to place trade without having to call your broker every time you want to buy or sell crude oil. It consists of dealing rates, charts, account information, tool bars, trade options and lots more which can be selected with your mouse. After you have learnt the techniques of trading CRUDE OIL, you will be able to place trades by clicking on crude oil and perform either a buy or sell action on it from the platform. I will recommend AVA FINANCIAL as your Broker. I have been using this broker for a longtime and I tell, they have quality service with good customer care. You can also trade currency on their platform and the broker is regulated. For more information, you can visit 6 2

3 GETTING STARTED One basic advantage of the crude oil market is that brokers offer free DEMO account to practice trading with real time resources like news, charting service, live crude oil rate through out the world on the same state of the art software package for live trading. This DEMO account provides the opportunity for intending traders to practice with virtual money before trading with real money since you can practice with your hard earned money. With demo account, you experience the same dynamic market action and go through the same process of making decision based on events around the world (fundamental analysis) and reacting to charts (technical analysis). There is no difference between how the market reacts on the Demo account and the live account. Demo account helps to understand both the market and the platform but at the same time you need to be careful of how u trade with the demo account because you might cultivate some bad habits which will not help you when you start trading with real money. So,TAKE THE DEMO MONEY AS IF IT IS YOUR REAL MONEY. How long you trade demo account before moving to live account depends on you. But I ll advise that you demo trade very well before you trade with your real money. The more time you spend on demo account, the more you understand the market and the more professional you are. 7 3

4 HOW DO I OPEN AN ACCOUNT? 1. Visit on open a DEMO account 3.Fill out the blanks spaces provided on the form provided 4.Download the AVATRADER software 5.Click and enter the username and password you provided when opening the account. The here you are on the platform. Click on the forex column and then scroll down to crude oil and click. Then the crude oil chart would be displayed. TYPES OF ACCOUNT There are two types of account, which are the MINI and REGULAR/STANDRED account. MINI ACCOUNT: ranges $1-$999 REGULAR ACCOUNT: ranges $1000 upward. TERMS ASSOCIATED WITH OIL AND GAS The first thing to understand about this market is that crude oil is traded against US dollars i.e. when you buy crude oil, you are automatically selling Us dollars in anticipation that the price of Crude oil will increase. if the price of Crude oil is falling, you sell Crude oil automatically buying U.S dollars. If you can do exactly this, then you are set to make money in this market. MARGIN: This is the amount of money you invest with your broker i.e. the amount required by your broker to be in your account. In a case 4

5 where your account falls below the margin requirement, the broker s dealing desk will close all your positions. LEVERAGE This is the amount of money you borrow from your broker to trade. It gives you the ability to control a large amount of money with a very small capital. This give you the ability to make extraordinary profit and at the same time minimum risk. The leverage provided by Ava financial is 200: 1 for FOREX and 100:1 for CRUDE OIL. Leverage calculation is simple, just multiple your margin by the leverage provided by the broker.i.e $200 x 100 = $20,000 This means you can control $20,000 worth of contract with your $200. It is very important that you know that for leverage to be a great advantage to you, you must always trade with caution. In other words, practice good money management (I will explain that in subsequent lessons. GOING LONG AND GOING SHORT As earlier said in the crude oil market you buy and sell crude oil as the price fluctuates in the international market. The beauty of this market is that you make money when you are buying and also when you are selling ie. You make money in both bearish and bullish (rising) conditions. Buying crude oil is also referred to as GOING LONG and selling crude oil referred to as GOING SHORT. NOTE: You buy crude oil when you have properly analyzed that the price of crude oil will rise and you sell crude oil when you have properly analyzes that the price of crude oil will fall. 5

6 RATE, SPREAD, BID AND ASK PRICES Rate is price of crude oil in the international market. It ends with 2 decimal points e.g It appears on the platform in this form / The first rate in the pair is the BID PRICE while the second price in the pair is the ASK PRICE. ASK PRICE: is what you pay if you are buying crude oil and always higher than the BID price. BID PRICE: is the amount you get when you are selling crude oil SPREAD: is the difference between the BID PRICE and the ASK PRICE. This goes to the broker on every position you open. I call spread the Brokers commission. The spread for crude oil is 5pips i.e. every time you open a position the broker gets 5 pips. MARKET POINT In the crude oil market. Price are quoted in pips. Stands percentage in point and it s the second decimal point. A pip is the smallest movement to price and it determines the profit /loss of the trade. In order to make money, a crude oil trader must capture as many profitable pips as possible. If crude oil price is quoted as the second decimal point represents a pip. So if the price falls from to 97.50, then that is 100pips difference. IP VALUE: the value of a pip is determine by the leverage provided by the broker and the amount of money you use in trading. For example, if broker provides 100:1 leverage and you are trading with $50 out of your account. You have: 6

7 50 x 100 = $5000 since you have been leveraged to $5000 then the value of each pip would be 50cent. Also if you are trading with $100 out of your account, then you would be leveraged to $10,000. The value of each pip would be $1.i.e. for every increase or decrease in pip, you are either making or loosing $1.Below is a guide to pip value for different leveraged amount: Trading with $20, leverage to $2,000 = 20cent/pip Trading with $50, leveraged to $5,000 =50cent/pip Trading with $100,leverage to $10,000 = $1/pip Trading with $200, leveraged to $20,000 = $2/pip And so on. So if you are trading with 100 dollars and you bought crude oil at $98.30/barrel and the price appreciate to $ /barrel, them you have been able to capture 200 pips and the amount you have made is $200 because the value of each pip is $1. Try as much as possible to capture as many pips as possible on every of your trades. MARKET ORDERS A market order is an order that is given to a broker to buy or sell crude oil at whatever the market is trading for at the moment. It can be an entry order into the market or an exit order to get out of the market. Crude oil traders use market orders when they are ready to make a commitment to enter or exit the market. ENTRY ORDER: is an order to buy or sell crude oil when it reaches a certain price. At that price the position would be opened for instance if after analyzing the crude oil market you discovered that if the price 7

8 gets to $100.00/ barrel it will all to as low as $90/barrel then you can set an entry order to be $ In this since the price will eventually fall to $90.00 then you would have made 100pips. It is also called pending order. STOP ORDER: is an order placed to exit the market automatically after a certain level of loss. I.e. when a trade is against you stop order is placed to stop at a particular extent of loss. For example you place a buy order at $90.00/barrel anticipating that the price will rise further but unfortunately the price continued falling, you can set a stop order at $89.40 so that you would not loose more than 60 pips. At $89.40 rate, the position would be closed automatically. LIMIT ORDER: is an order placed to exit the market at a certain level of profit of profit has been attained.for example, you have analyzed that the price of crude oil would rise further from the present market price, you can then set you limit order to At the position would be closed automatically and you would have made 70 pips out of the market. METHODS OF TRADING CRUDE OIL Recall that I said crude oil is traded against U.S dollars, but you will see only crude oil on the platform not paired. In other words, when crude oil is rising then Dollars fall and vice versa. in this market you make money from predicting future price based on solid analysis of the market and basically, there are two methods by which you can forecast or predict future prices. They are TECHNICAL AND FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS. 8

9 The technical analysis studies the effects while the fundamental analyst studies the causes of market movements TECHNICAL ANALYSIS AN INTRODUCTION Technical analysis is the study of market data such as historical and current price data and volume in an effort to forecast future market activity. historical price data is the most commonly used available data that is implemented into the analysis. Historical market data is saved and forms charts over various periods of time. The technical trader can analyze varying periodical charts over a specific length of time for the basic purpose of picking the entry and exit levels of a trade. By studying the chart the chartist is able to get information at a glance that will hopefully represent the direction of the instrument in the future. Over the years various mathematical manipulations were placed upon market prices and volumes. Theses manipulations (known as studies) helped the technical analysis focus on identifying the trend and the entry and exit levels. As with any analysis, discipline is the most important aspect of the study. If your studies showed that something was to occur, then follow your studies-do not let the market change your plan. If you were wrong then you were wrong, but stick to your game plan. 1.TECHNICAL TRADING GUIDE 1.Chart the Trend and Range Bound Markets Use long term charts to decide trends or range bound markets. Begin a chart analysis with daily, weekly and even monthly charts spanning several years if possible. A larger scale chart essentially shows the 9

10 life of the market and provides clearer visibility and a better long-term perspective on a market. once the long-term has been established, consult daily and intra-day charts, these charts can include anything from say 10minute to daily charts. A short-term market view alone can often be deceptive Even if you only trade the very short term, you will do better if you re trading in the same direction as the intermediate and longer-term trends. If there is no trend then a different strategy is necessary, possible playing the range until the market begins to trend once more. 2. Follow the Trend if you determine the trend, then follow it. Market trends come in a variety of terms-long-term, intermediate-term and short-term. The first thing you have to determine is what type of a trader are you, long term or day trader, that decision will determine which charts you should be using. For instance, if you re day trading, use the daily and intra-day charts, but always use the longer-term range chart to determine the trend, and then use shorter-term chart for timing. make sure you trade in the direction of that trend and then buy on dips if the trend is up and sell on rallies if the trend is down. 3. Locate Support and Resistance Levels Find the support and resistance levels. As about when you want to buy an instrument, its best to buy near support levels. The support is usually a previous reaction low. Using the same logic, the best place to sell an instrument would be near its resistance levels. The resistance level is usually previous peak. After a resistance peak has been broken, it will usually provide support on subsequent 10

11 pullbacks. In other words, the old high becomes the new low. In the same way, when a support level has been broken, it will usually produce selling on subsequent rallies- the old low can then become the new high. 4. Moving Averages Moving averages often provide objective buy and signals. Hence, they should be watched. They show you if an existing trend is still in motion and help confirm a trend change. Do not rely on moving averages to tell you in advance if there is a trend change imminent; use it as a back-up to your chart analysis for trend identification. A combination chart of two moving averages is the most popular way of finding trading signals. Signals are given when the shorter average line crosses the longer. Price crossings about and below a 40-day and 200-day moving average also provide good trading signals. Since moving average chart lines are trend-following indicators, they work best in a trending market. 5. Oscillators Oscillators help identify overbought and oversold markets while moving averages offer confirmation of a trending market, Oscillators can often warn us in advance that a market has rallied or fallen too far and will soon turn or retrace. Two of the most popular oscillators are the Relative Strength index or RSI and the stochastic. Both these oscillators work on a scale of 0 to 100.with the RSI, readings over 70 are overbought while readings below 30 are oversold. The over bought and oversold values for stochastic are 80 and 20. Oscillator divergences often warn of market turns and as opposed to moving 11

12 averages they work best in range bound markets. Weekly signals can be used as filters on daily signals. Daily signals can be use as filters for intra-day charts..6. Know the Warning Signs The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) Indicator combines a moving average crossover system with the overbought/ oversold elements of an oscillator. A buy signal occurs when the faster line crosses above the slower and both lines are below zero. A sell signal takes place when the faster line. Longerperiod signals take precedence over shorter-period signals. The MACD histogram plots the difference between the two lines and gives even earlier warnings of trend changes. It s called histogram because vertical bars are used to show the difference between the two lines on the chart. 8. Trend or Range Bound Market The Average Directional Movement Index (ADX) line helps determine whether a market is a trending or range bound phase. It measures the degree of trend or direction in the market. A rising ADX line suggests the presence of a strong trend. A falling ADX line suggests the presence of a trading market and the absence of a trend. A rising ADX line favors moving averages; a falling ADX favors oscillators. By plotting the direction of the ADX line, the trader is able to determine which trading style and which set of indicators are most suitable for the current market environment. 12

13 9. Study Technical analysis is a skill that improves with experience and study. The more you learn and practice the better you ll be, keep studying, fine tune methods, learn what works for you and what doesn t and remain technical and not emotional. FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS Fundamental analysis is the study of economic, social and political data that represents and quantifies the economy in question with the goal of determining future movements in a financial market. Analysis have been grouped into either Technical of fundamental camps for years but if truth be told there are very few pure technicians or fundamentalists. Technical analysts cannot really ignore the effect and timing of economic announcements and fundamental analysts cannot really ignore various signals derived from the study of historic prices and volatility. BASIC GUIDE TO FUNDAMENTAL ANALYSIS Economic Calendar Know exactly when each economic indicator is due to be released. Try keeping a calendar on your desk or trading station that contains the name of the indicator the data and time as well as the expected release. Often it s not just the announcement itself that moves the market but the anticipation of an announcement may move the market sometimes days weeks prior to the release. 13

14 Understand the Announcement Understand what particular aspect of the economy is being revealed in the data. there are several aspects of an economy that are measured from Growth such as GDP, inflation such as PPI or CPI, Employment such as Non-farm payrolls, interest rate announcements, Confidence such as consumer Confidence or Spending and so on.. After you follow the data for economic indicator and what part of the economy they are relating to. 3. Know the Indicators to Concentrate on As mentioned before there are a myriad of indicators that are released daily, it would be impossible to follow them all religiously, and it may well be a waste of time. Some move markets others don t concentrate on the ones that do. However economic indicators are not static over the years some have gained greater importance and others have become less important keep up to date. 4. Anticipation The data itself may not be as significant as the difference between market expectation and the actual result. As mentioned earlier it is important to know the expectation by the market, expectations are then built into the price of the instrument. What is not is an unexpected figure or event. This is sometimes felt not only by the announcement itself but by the wording joined with the announcement. for instance an expected 0.25% rate hike may not change the market as it was expected. However the wording following the announcement that there will not be any further hikes may in fact move the price. 14

15 5. Understand the Release Not all unexpected releases trigger a move in the market. contained in each new economic indicator released to the public are revisions to previously release data. Sometimes these can be ambiguous for instance, if durable goods rise by 0.4% in the current month and the market is anticipating them to fall, the unexpected rise could be the result of a downward revision to the prior month. Check out the revisions to older data because in this case, the previous month s durable goods figure might ve been originally reported as a rise of 0.4% but now, along with the new figures, is being revised lower to say a rise of only 0.1% therefore, the unexpected rise in the current month is likely the result of a downward revision to previous month s data. MONEY MANAGMNT IN CRUDE OIL TRADING You should not more than 2%-5% of your margin account on a SINGLE trade. This is because this market it very volatile and has the ability of moving pips in a day. lets assume that the value of each of your pip on a particular trade on 2%-5%of your account is 50cent and you are able to capture 400 pips, this means you have made $200 and that trade. If you are able to make 10 trades with that kind of outcome in a month, then you have made $2000 that month. Remember that slow and steady; wins the race. Set reasonable limit and stop orders on every position. Analyze the market very well before opening any position. Market movements could be very tempting at times and this could let you open wrong positions. So be careful! 15

16 I hope I have been able to impact this knowledge of oil and gas trading to some extent. Remember to practice good money management and analyze the market very well any time you want to open a position For further explanation you can send us a mail to info@ebookconnect.net or log onto Thanks for purchasing this manual. Wish you a successful trading. PEACE! 16