Selling Options on Futures?

November 16th, 2012, 09:49 AM

More good news for optionsXpress traders. They have reduced the amount they charge above exchange minimum margin on most commodities. About half of them, ES, CT, FC, GC, LC, LH, OJ, SB, SI, S, W, are now at minimum.

November 16th, 2012, 09:55 AM

Mark59

I currently have KC Feb 200 Call & 135 Put on...so far so good.

Looking at the April GC 1400 Puts... Delta .0296

The 135 has a good amount of risk. The rest should be good.

Gold usually goes up early in the year. Usually

November 16th, 2012, 10:06 AM

I heard all these wonderful things about OptionsXpress , tried to open a account with them. Currently not opening Canadian accounts, is too bad.

November 16th, 2012, 10:14 AM

t jay

Just for the record , here is a quote from ICO Oct,2012 report. Crop year 2012/13 has now started in all exporting countries, and on the basis of the information
currently available, total production is estimated at around 147 million bags, compared to 134.5 million
bags in 2011/12. The majority of this increase can be attributed to the on‐year in the biennial cycle of
Arabica production in Brazil.
Tx for the input on the call, 185 probably is too close as we are buying a march call months away.

You're correct. I confused the 2011-2012 growing season with 2012-2013. They both have 2012 in them.

Here's a coffee article.
Brazil Arabica Coffee Output May Fall 7% in 2012-13, Archer Says - Businessweek
The drop is compared to the previous "on" year. But the article doesn't say why it will be down.

Here's a monthly newsletter from ICE about the softs.
https://www.ice.com/publicdocs/futures_us/ICE_Monthly_Softs_Fast_Facts.pdf

November 16th, 2012, 01:22 PM

t jay

I heard all these wonderful things about OptionsXpress , tried to open a account with them. Currently not opening Canadian accounts, is too bad.

Here's the response I got back from OX.

"As for Canada, we are no longer going to be handling any Canadian accounts and because of the complexities of the Canadian system I doubt that will be changing anytime soon."

November 18th, 2012, 12:56 PM

Tx for checking that out Ron. So tell me , What you thinking about CL. Let me pick your brain for a second. What are good options to sell that have a Feb contract month. All I see is Energy and Metal. Am I missing something here.
Sold Gas calls Friday so hoping things don't get too crazy out in the middle east.

November 18th, 2012, 01:19 PM

Thanks for sharing guys, this is an interesting thread. What is the best way to learn about the softs with respect to production levels, inventory, etc? Moreover, what is the liquidity like for options in these markets?

I currently have one open position, that being strangle swap rolls on the VIX.

Risk profile per unit:

November 18th, 2012, 08:10 PM

t jay

Tx for checking that out Ron. So tell me , What you thinking about CL. Let me pick your brain for a second. What are good options to sell that have a Feb contract month. All I see is Energy and Metal. Am I missing something here.
Sold Gas calls Friday so hoping things don't get too crazy out in the middle east.

Energies and Metals are very good for Feb put contracts. Seasonal tendency is up in Jan & Feb.

Corn puts should be OK. Not enough carryover.

Way out of the money coffee calls have been good to me for years.

Just watch out for any drops before they fix the fiscal cliff. But after they fix it I see puts in many commodities as the way to go.

November 18th, 2012, 08:14 PM

Cogito ergo sum

Thanks for sharing guys, this is an interesting thread. What is the best way to learn about the softs with respect to production levels, inventory, etc? Moreover, what is the liquidity like for options in these markets?

I currently have one open position, that being strangle swap rolls on the VIX.

See my November 16th, 2012, 10:14 AM post for soft info.

Liquidity is good for KC, SB. Just OK for Cocoa, CT. Not much in OJ.

November 19th, 2012, 04:15 AM

ron99

Energies and Metals are very good for Feb put contracts. Seasonal tendency is up in Jan & Feb.

Corn puts should be OK. Not enough carryover.

Way out of the money coffee calls have been good to me for years.

Just watch out for any drops before they fix the fiscal cliff. But after they fix it I see puts in many commodities as the way to go.

I totally agree with you regarding the fiscal cliff "fix" Ron, likely to be a non event and then send commodities/stocks up. I am currently 100% cash at the moment.

I am bullish regarding Oil, my delta studies show accumaltion every time we hit a pivot low. I actually had some long calls on prior to the election which I covered after the push to 89 failed. Seasonality and geo-political outlook also supports higher prices ahead.

The latest Option Seller newsletter is suggesting puts on Gold and RBOB. The problem i have with gold is the margins with IB. As for RBOB the volume and open interest seems all but non-existant for OTM strikes.

Brit

Selling Options on Futures?

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Selling Options on Futures?