I've lost track of how many times I've heard this in meetings. As a trader I loved hearing it because it meant opportunity. Now I'm on the educational side I have a different reaction.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 - 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆.

We’ve just added 𝟵 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 to the Perfectly Hedged Online Learning Platform, focused entirely on the 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟱𝟬% 𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗺 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝘂𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗨.𝗦. 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀.

The mechanics behind trade execution are covered thoroughly in our online course. Make sure you have the knowledge to avoid disputes with your customers.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀? 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀.

It’s graduation season, and that means a new wave of people trying to break into the world of commodities.

The truth? There isn’t a lot of clear guidance out there, especially for those just starting out. I ran a LinkedIn Live a few months ago on this exact topic, but I know not everyone had the time to watch or participate.

That’s why I’ve put together my top recommendations, drawn from my own experience and from years of being involved in hiring at both large and small trading houses.

I've worked with scrap yards from the most basic setups (yes, even a pitbull on a chain as security!) to multi-country processing powerhouses.

One pattern stands out: 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸.

A lot of companies wait until they price before managing their carry risk. But what if you could lock in protection months in advance, and even profit from the spreads?

If you're thinking 90s financial movies - traders yelling over each other, waving papers, and throwing phones, you wouldn’t be alone.

When most people in the metals industry think about carry trades, they’re usually looking at month-over-month exposures. But on the LME, there's a whole world of opportunity (and risk) in the daily prompt date structure. Traders who understand how to manage these nearby positions through tom-next and cash-for-a-day spreads can potentially unlock greater value than traditional month-over-month carries allow.

Last week, I came across a post asking how many countries you’ve done business with. I’d never thought to count but curiosity got the better of me.

𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗮 𝟵𝟬% 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀?

𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮.
Luckily, commodity trading is known as one of the least stressful industries so there's nothing to worry about on that front...if only that were true.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
It's a harsh reality that traders - especially newer ones - need to accept.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗠𝗘...𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲?

To get the most value out of your hedging strategies, you need a system that’s 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 and can, at the click of a button, show your 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀.

𝗟𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝟳% 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟮.𝟱%.
So are metals really rallying...or is it just the USD falling?

A lot of people will be in the middle of enjoying a four-day weekend—trying to forget about work for a few days and eating far too many chocolate eggs. They’ve left some stops in place for their open positions and are confident their max losses are within risk limits, right?

“𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻, 𝗱𝗼. 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁, 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵.”
I’ve always disliked that phrase.

𝗟𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝟳% 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟮.𝟱%.
So are metals really rallying...or is it just the USD falling?