Experienced stock trader but am confused with commodities!

Hi,

My first post

I've been trading stocks for around 20 years and I now want to expand and see what are the opportunities in the futures markets (just read Jim Rogers book, Hot commodities, yes I realize it is a bit out of date!)

Initially I want to papertrade selected futures markets and I was looking for ways to analyze the charts of the most popular commodities (I wont get into interest rate futures at this point)

The problem I am having is I dont really know how to get charts for the various commodities, in fact, I cant even find the symbols! I am initially going to use the freestockcharts.com site for charts (unless there is a bettter one out theere for futures?) but I cannot for the life of me, what are the symbols and contracts I should be looking at? Initially I would like to analyze crude oil, lead, aluminium, wheat, soy beans etc (majors?)

Any info appreciated

try futuresource.com for a basic free starter with pricing / charts.

http://tfc-charts.w2d.com/menu.html

I'd advise you only go for the big markets, grains, energy etc. Try to stay away from anything that has a bone, like Cattle/Hogs etc. Also stay away from Natural Gas, it's a widow maker unless you know/have contacts in the cash market.

lets say I want to start with crude oil only.

Should I trade the cash market or the futures market? if futures, which contract? and what is the symbol for it?

Futures, as for which contract see what the spread betters are quoting and that's the one to trade. The months also change every month, unlike financials which are normally quarterly.

Many years ago I traded stocks but ended up moving to the Futures market and haven't looked back. There is a lot to understand, and unless you have a big account (>1 million), I would suggest staying away from holding overnight positions (aka day trade the markets only). I would suggest also having a minimum capital base of 50K, to give you room to move and not have to take on too great a risk per trade. A 1$ move on Oil is a $1,000 per contract. Imagine having 2 contracts overnight, and Oil moves $5 away from you. That's a $10,000 loss right there... I'm sure you get the picture.

You will probably want to redefine your strategies if you are a long term trader in stocks. I day traded stocks and applied the same strategies to Futures without any issues.

Don't go live trading until you have a very well defined plan for entry/exits and rock solid money management and risk control.

Be careful and good luck.