Commodities

With your Finspreads spread betting account, you can take a position on an extensive range of commodities markets, including UK and US crude oil, cocoa, coffee, sugar, wheat and soyabean.

Spreads and Margins

We offer competitive spreads on commodities including UK and US crude oil from 6 points, coffee from 8 points and wheat and sugar from 2 points and 8 points respectively.

Our margins on commodities starts from just 1%, meaning you can spread bet on US crude oil with just a small initial deposit.

Our commodities markets are available for trading across all our three account types, enabling you to react to fast moving prices 24 hours a day.

*Spreads may vary according to the underlying market spread, market conditions and liquidity. 

Our market information sheet details our full spreads range and can be accessed via the online trading platform.

See our spread bet examples page located in our how to spread bet section for more information on how you can spread bet commodities.

What Affects Commodities Prices?

Commodities prices can be affected by a range of factors, including supply and demand, politics and socio-economics. The price of UK and US crude oil is especially vulnerable to factors such as politics etc in oil rich nations.

For example, in July 2008, crude oil prices rose above $147 per barrel, reaching then all-time highs, as growing concerns over hostilities between Iran and the US and unrest in Nigeria triggered fears that production would be affected.

If, as a spread bettor, you had speculated at the time that crude oil prices had moved higher still and they had, you would have made a profit.

If, however, you had speculated that crude oil prices had reached their peak and would fall lower and had taken a short position in keeping with this view, and the markets had moved the way you had anticipated (ie oil prices had fallen), you would have net a profit.

Remember, however, that if prices move in the opposite direction (ie if you had speculated that prices would rise and they fell instead, or if you had said that prices would fall but they climbed higher instead), you would net a loss.

It is important to keep abreast of the factors affecting the pricing of commodities when trading. For instance, unrest in the Middle East or a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico typically pushes up the price of US and UK crude oil, as these events can disrupt production and hurt supply.

With a Finspreads spread betting account, you can speculate on moving prices and net a potential profit irrespective of whether you expect prices to move higher or lower in the coming days.

Our online trading platform and iPhone app enable you to speculate on fast moving prices even when you’re on the move.

Find out more about how you can spread bet with Finspreads or see our Learn to Spread Bet section and find out how you can spread bet the financial markets.