MCX · NSE Commodity

Commodities

Bullion, energy and base metal contracts, with the longest session on the platform.

The market

What commodities trading is

A commodity future is a contract to buy or sell a physical good — gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, copper, zinc — at a set price on a future date. Most positions are closed before expiry rather than taken to delivery, but the contract is grounded in a real physical quantity.

That physical grounding is what makes contract size matter so much here. One crude oil contract is a hundred barrels, not one barrel. Getting that wrong is the single most expensive beginner mistake in this segment, which is why every ticket states the size in the instrument’s own units.

Commodity prices respond to supply and demand in the physical world: OPEC decisions, weather, mine output, inventory reports, industrial demand, and the dollar. They also run a longer session than equities, so a commodity market can still be trading well into the evening.

What you can trade

Commodities instruments

Every contract listed here is a real, checkable instrument on the exchange beside it. Availability depends on the segments enabled on your account.

GOLDBullion

SILVERBullion

CRUDEOILEnergy · 100 barrels per lot

NATURALGASEnergy

COPPERBase metal

ZINCBase metal

Contract type: Futures and options on physical commodities
Exchanges: MCX and NSE Commodity
Contract size: Real physical units — barrels, kilograms, mmBtu
Crude oil: 100 barrels per standard lot
Session: Longest on the platform, running into the evening
Expiry: Monthly series per commodity

Contract specifications are set by the exchange and revised periodically. The current lot size, tick size and expiry for any contract are shown on the instrument and carried through to the order ticket.

On the platform

How commodities works here

Contracts in real units

One crude oil contract is a hundred barrels, not one. Every ticket states the contract size in the instrument’s own units, because that is where costly mistakes are made.

Its own session

The commodity segment runs its own hours, separate from equities — a commodity market can still be trading long after the cash segment has closed.

Dual-listed contracts

Some commodity contracts are listed on more than one exchange with different lot conventions. Both are shown with their own specification rather than merged.

Each instrument reports whether its own segment is currently trading, and when the next session opens — shown live on the instrument and on the order ticket.

Before you trade

What can go against you

Every market has its own ways of losing money. These are the ones specific to this segment.

Contract sizes are large. Because one lot represents a substantial physical quantity, a small move in the price per unit is a large move in the value of the position.
Energy contracts are among the most volatile instruments available here. Crude oil and natural gas can move several percent in a session on an inventory report or a geopolitical headline.
The evening session means positions stay exposed while other markets are closed, and while you may not be watching. A stop-loss set before you step away is doing the work.
Some commodity contracts are listed on more than one exchange with different lot conventions for the same underlying. Confirm which contract you are opening rather than assuming.

Questions

Commodities questions

In normal use, no — positions are closed before expiry. Delivery rules vary by contract and exchange, and contracts that are physically settled have specific requirements near expiry, so do not carry a position into expiry without understanding that contract’s rules.