What this page gives you
This page lists every active MCX commodity recommendation from the ATS commodity desk — bullion (gold, silver), energy (crude oil, natural gas) and base metals (copper, zinc, aluminium, lead). Each call includes the symbol, expiry, entry zone, target, stop-loss, and whether the setup is intraday or positional.
What is commodity trading?
Commodity trading in India is conducted primarily on two exchanges: MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange) for non-agricultural commodities — bullion, energy, base metals — and NCDEX for agricultural commodities. Trading is in standardised futures contracts; physical delivery is possible at expiry but the vast majority of retail volume is cash-settled or rolled over.
Indian commodity prices track international benchmarks — gold tracks COMEX / LBMA, crude tracks WTI Nymex / Brent ICE, base metals track LME — adjusted for the USD/INR rate and import duties. This linkage is why understanding global cues is non-negotiable for commodity trading.
MCX commodity market timings (IST)
NCDEX agri: 09:00 – 21:00
Pre-open / post-trade: No formal pre-open; trading begins at 09:00 IST sharp.
The long evening session is one of MCX's defining features — it overlaps with European and US sessions, when most global price discovery happens. The most volatile windows are usually 18:00 IST (London PM fix), 20:00–21:00 IST (US economic data), and 23:00 IST (US session close).
How ATS analysts pick commodity calls
Our commodity desk weights global macro, technical structure and inventory data:
- USD Dollar Index (DXY): gold and silver are inversely correlated to DXY. A weak dollar usually means higher precious metal prices.
- COMEX / LBMA premium: we monitor MCX gold premium/discount to COMEX adjusted for USD/INR — extremes signal mean-reversion opportunities.
- OPEC+ supply policy: production cuts or releases drive crude price regimes. OPEC meeting outcomes are major catalysts.
- EIA crude inventory (Wednesday 20:00 IST): the single most important weekly data for crude oil traders.
- LME warehouse stocks: falling LME inventories support base metal prices; rising stocks pressure them.
- USD/INR cross: a weakening rupee inflates MCX prices for imported commodities even when global prices are flat.
- Geopolitical risk premium: gold tends to rally; crude moves with supply-disruption risk; base metals fall on demand-destruction fears.
How to read an MCX commodity call
| Field | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Symbol | GOLD / GOLDM (Mini) / SILVER / SILVERM / CRUDEOIL / CRUDEOILM / NATURALGAS / COPPER / ZINC / ALUMINIUM / LEAD |
| Expiry | Contract month — most retail liquidity is in the near-month |
| Side | Buy (long) or Sell (short) |
| Entry / Target / SL | Per-unit prices in ₹ — use the lot size to compute capital at risk |
| Type | Intraday (square off same session) or Positional (overnight) |
Lot sizes & approximate margin requirements
MCX standardises lot sizes per commodity. The mini variants (GOLDM, SILVERM, CRUDEOILM) exist specifically to make commodities accessible to smaller retail capital. Indicative lot sizes (always verify on the live MCX contract spec):
| Commodity | Lot size | Tick size |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | 100 grams | ₹1 per 10g |
| Gold Mini | 100 grams (1 lot has different ratio — verify) | ₹1 per 10g |
| Silver | 30 kg | ₹1 per kg |
| Silver Micro | 1 kg | ₹1 per kg |
| Crude Oil | 100 barrels | ₹1 per barrel |
| Crude Oil Mini | 10 barrels | ₹1 per barrel |
| Natural Gas | 1,250 mmBtu | ₹0.10 per mmBtu |
| Copper | 2.5 MT | ₹0.05 per kg |
| Zinc | 5 MT | ₹0.05 per kg |
| Aluminium | 5 MT | ₹0.05 per kg |
Risk management for commodity trading
- Inventory-week awareness: reduce crude position size on Wednesday — EIA prints can produce 3–5% gaps in minutes.
- Overnight gaps: Indian commodity futures react to overnight US session moves. If you carry a position into the next morning, expect gap risk.
- Currency exposure: a strengthening rupee can move MCX prices independent of underlying global commodity moves — an unhedged INR move is a hidden P&L driver.
- Position sizing: stay with the 1–2% rule per trade. Crude oil at 100-barrel lot size produces large rupee P&L per tick — size accordingly.
- Avoid expiry week: liquidity thins, basis movement increases, and rollover spreads widen. Most retail traders should roll positions to the next month early.
Common pitfalls in commodity trading
- Trading crude oil during the EIA print without a stop-loss — the single biggest one-tick blow-up risk on MCX.
- Treating gold and silver as identical — silver is industrial as well as monetary, and is far more volatile than gold.
- Ignoring USD/INR — a 1% rupee move can wipe out an entire week of well-earned commodity P&L.
- Pyramiding on a profitable trade without raising stop-loss — gives back gains in the inevitable reversal.
- Carrying naked positions over weekends — Sunday opens can produce 2–3% gaps when news breaks.