Futures in the metatrader terminal

For the vast majority of forex traders, the MetaTrader trading platform is the only tool through which they trade. It so happens that almost all brokers in the foreign exchange market provide access only through this platform, since it combines two main criteria, namely quality and a favorable price for its license.

Many beginners do not even suspect that MT4 and MT5 can be used not only for trading currencies and metals, but also the well-known futures and stocks.

The program makes no difference what asset the trader will trade; all the tools that are available to you depend only on the broker you choose. If the broker does not provide the opportunity to trade futures, then you will not see them in the list of instruments, which also applies to stocks and indices. Therefore, if you want to trade futures, I recommend that you familiarize yourself more thoroughly with the trading conditions of brokers.

Let me remind you that a futures is a financial instrument in which you, as a trader, when purchasing a certain asset, agree with the owner of this asset that on a certain day after the expiration of the contract, you will buy back a pre-agreed volume at the price at the time of the transaction. To put it more clearly, when you buy a certain futures contract, you agree that at the end of the contract’s expiration date you will buy back its full value.

If by the time the futures contract expires, its price has increased, and you entered into a deal at a cheaper price, then this is your profit. In theory, the definition of futures looks something like this, but in fact, traders try not to wait for the contract to expire, but make money on the slightest changes in its price.

Practical aspects of working with futures in the metatrader trading platform.

Now let’s consider a situation where you have opened an account with a broker to trade futures, but for some reason the instruments are not displayed in the toolbar in the trading terminal. In order to add them, move the mouse cursor to the list of tools and right-click on the mouse, select “Symbols”.

Generally, brokers subscribe to categories, so you need to look for the Futures or Futures section. For example, broker InstaForex divided all futures into categories, namely futures for metals (gold, silver, platinum, copper), energy (oil and its brands, gas, gasoline), Agro (soybeans, corn, wheat), Commodities (sugar, cotton , cocoa). Having opened the category you need, simply click on the instrument you like with the mouse and it will appear in the main list in the MetaTrader toolbar.

Futures trading is a little different from traditional currency trading, because while you can trade currency pairs around the clock, with futures you work during a specific trading session.

In order to find out the session schedule for each of the instruments you have selected, select a specific contract in the list of symbols and click properties. A window will appear in front of you with detailed information on the contract, margin, tick cost, as well as a schedule of trading sessions by day.

In general, futures trading is no different from the usual trading of currency pairs, however, to trade this instrument in a metatrader, before opening an account, you must ask the broker about its availability and detailed trading conditions, such as spreads, commissions.