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Your GCA Insider for August 20th, 2009


This is the last edition of the GCA Insider. We hope everyone has enjoyed the series!

An Insider’s View of the
Continuous Commodity Index

Though it has gone through many revisions since the inaugural use, the Continuous Commodity Index (CCI) has aimed to provide an accurate representation of commodity price trends. There is more than one futures contract for a commodity price index, but contract specifications here will refer to the CCI futures on ICE US.

Contract Size - $500 x Index

Price Quote & Tick Size – Quoted in index points, to two decimal places. (e.g. 300.05, 300.10, 300.15).01 = $5; tick size is .05 = $25

Contract Months – January, February, April, June, August and November
Trading Specs – Futures trade on ICE US from 2:30 am to 2:45 pm next day

Daily Price Limit

None as of publishing; please consult exchange for additional details on limits.

Trading Symbols – CI

Past performance is not indicative of future results.
***chart courtesy Gecko Software

CCI Facts

The Commodity Research Bureau first developed an index based on commodity prices in the middle part of the last century. Originally, it was composed of twenty-eight commodities. The current representation that is the CCI contains seventeen. They include:

Crude Oil
Heating Oil
Natural Gas
Corn
Soybeans
Wheat
Copper
Cotton
Live Cattle
Lean Hogs
Gold
Platinum
Silver
Cocoa
Coffee
Orange Juice
Sugar #11

This kind of index may be more difficult to understand than a basket of stocks since the active contract for each commodity changes. The change occurs when the nearby futures contract expires. For this reason, this kind of index may have to be rebalanced. The original CRB index was also heavily weighted towards commodities in the agricultural sector. Now, the balance is relative to the following chart:

***information courtesy CRB

Key Uses

CCI futures may be incorporated into strategies to hedge cash market positions, diversify holdings, or as a means to trade a directional bias on the possible future price trends for commodities.

Key Concerns

Since commodity prices are the constituents of the index, the CCI may be influenced by some or all of the same things which will cause fluctuations in commodity prices. These could include – but are not limited to – events or fundamentals like the following:

- Industry reports
- Inventories or supply reports for specific commodities
- National or global recessions
- Weather issues
- Crop reports
- Central bank meetings or policy changes
- US dollar movements
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Disclaimer:  There is risk of loss in all commodities trading.  Losses can exceed your account size and/or margin requirements.  Commodities trading can be extremely risky and is not for everyone.  Some option strategies have unlimited risk.  Educate yourself on the risks and rewards of such investing prior to trading.  Futures Press Inc., the publisher, and/or its affiliates, staff or anyone associated with Futures Press, Inc. do not guarantee profits or pre-determined loss points, and are not held monetarily responsible for the trading losses of others (subscribers or otherwise).  Past results are by no means indicative of potential future returns.  Options do not necessarily move lock step with the underlying futures contract.  Information provided is compiled by sources believed to be reliable.  Futures Press, Inc., and/or its principals, assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions as the information may not be complete or events may have been cancelled or rescheduled.  Any copy, reprint, broadcast or distribution of this report of any kind is prohibited without the expressed written consent of Futures Press, Inc.
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