Futures, Commodities, & Options

The derivatives markets have exploded in popularity, trading volume, and complexity over the years, providing more investing and trading choices than ever before. Whether making a directional bet, volatility play, or hedging risk, derivatives allow you to calibrate every position to maximize profit and minimize risk. Learn powerful analysis methods, diverse trade set-ups, and execution techniques from top professional investors and traders.

Articles on Futures, Commodities, & Options

Gold dropped from a peak of $5,375 on Jan. 29 to $4,661 by Feb. 2. By March 2, it was back at $5,419...and on March 23, the low was $4,099. That’s a lot of volatility. Now, let’s consider the medium-term outlook for gold, writes Eoin Treacy, editor of Fuller Treacy Money.
Gold is the ultimate hedge against global chaos. Or at least, that’s what it has been historically. But during this Middle East crisis, it has been anything BUT rock-solid. The question is…why?
Gold was down about $150 and silver was off more than $3 on Wednesday, while US stocks and crypto plummeted. Meanwhile, Treasury yields and the Dollar Index rose. But I am encouraged by gold’s falling Bollinger bandwidth, as it enters the rough area that has previously indicated an imminent rally, explains Brien Lundin, executive editor of Gold Newsletter.
I recently suggested silver might need more time to “digest” the price action of recent months. While it appears the digestion is not over, I view this as a great opportunity to continue researching silver stocks. Not to mention look to deploy funds in the best value and best quality names – including Americas Gold and Silver Corp. (USAS), observes Peter Krauth, editor of Silver Stock Investor.
Over the years, we’ve discussed a lot of volatility-based trades. Since volatility is high now, a number of them are apropos. The simplest is to buy call options on CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) futures or on a volatility ETF, including the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (VIXY) or 2x Long VIX Futures ETF (UVIX), explains Lawrence McMillan, editor of Option Strategist.
For decades, the intellectual elite of high finance has dismissed gold as a non-productive hunk of yellow metal that serves no purpose in a digitized, high-speed economy. But in 2026, the narrative is starting to wear thin. At its recent price of roughly $5,060 per ounce – and using the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) as a proxy – there are a couple of stark observations, notes Bryan Perry, editor of Cash Machine.
Higher oil prices can affect gold-company margins, which have been remarkably strong and rising the last few years. But while these stocks may slip a little more, if you are not invested, you should at least start a position now in stocks like Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM), says Adrian Day, editor of Global Analyst.
We are now looking to “play the range” of S&P 500 Index (^SPX) 6,820 resistance and 6,600 support. We think a full vol premium contraction is unlikely this week, and negative gamma still dominates the SPX landscape, observes Brent Kochuba, founder of SpotGamma.
The Debasement Trade discussion has become a popular topic on the financial news outlets. I thought I knew what it meant, but I wanted to dig deeper to understand better – and also tell you about funds like the Kurv Gold Enhanced Income ETF (KGLD), writes Tim Plaehn, editor of The Dividend Hunter.
I recently read a Barron’s article about Gen Z’s newfound interest in gold. The gist of it? A lot of younger investors have been seeing gold jump in price. They want in. But financial advisers and other supposedly-seasoned market pundits are telling them to stick with stocks and bonds, advises Nilus Mattive, editor of Safe Money Report.

Experts on Futures, Commodities, & Options

Virtual Learning

• Get a roadmap of how he sees the market topping out - and where he expects the next bear market to take us.

• See why Avi believes we are likely coming to the end of a long-term cycle in both the equity and metals markets.

A summary of the rapid recent growth in international Critical Mineral requirements and the powerful portfolio effects from investment in a new discovery.

Join this live session with Peter Thomas, chairman of Ausecure, as he goes over the massive changes occurring in the metals market and what this means for investors. 

Join this live session with Peter Thomas as he goes over the massive changes occuring in the metals market and what this means for investors.

By now you've heard that AI, data centers, and the Magnificent 7 are responsible for Wall Street's spectacular gains over the past three years. You might also know that silver was the superstar in 2025, having tripled in price. Are you aware that Peru and clean energy were some of the super performers, with gains of over 100% and 55%, respectively? This pretty much rounds-up the hot picks we selected for 2025. Will they continue to perform in 2026, or are there new areas to lean into? What about bitcoin? Are we headed for a Crypto Winter?

As we are likely approaching the end of a long-term cycle in both the equity and metals markets, Avi will outline how he sees the market topping out and where he expects the next bear market to take us  

In this session, Carley Garner will share her market analysis on commodities such as gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, and more. She will also share actionable trading ideas and present educational examples of how to use various strategies for speculating or hedging price risk 

Gold jumped 30 dollars today! Was it Putin or the Chinese Central Bank buying? Could it have been the dollar’s collapse on the world markets? Listen to Peter Thomas discuss what makes the World of Gold really trade.

Since May 2, 1988, Henry Weingarten has been the Managing Director of the ASTROLOGERS FUND. In addition to utilizing fundamental and technical analysis, he employs astrology as the primary tool to oversee investment fundsOne area of expertise is precious metals as cosmic value investor. His many accurate calls first began with a prescient MAJOR Sell on Bre-X Minerals two weeks before its collapse in 1997In 1980, he recommended selling silver at 49+. Currently (7/28/2025) he is short Gold 3500. “To make more money with less risk” he advises pair trading and timing/trading markets in addition to long term buy and hold for quality precious metal stocks. 

Bitcoin Was Our 2024 Investment of the Year. Our Ethereum ETF doubled in 4 months (since April). Silver and Peru (copper) are the best performers YTD (even better than Bitcoin & Ethereum), with 50% and 45% gains, respectively. With all of these trading near all-time highs, should you buy high, hoping to sell higher? Is there a better strategy? What is the outlook for stocks and safe havens going forward? As importantly, how can we eliminate the capital gains exposure of crypto currencies? The session will include a chart of sector returns, including the Magnificent 7. 

Conferences


Cruises


The growth of financial futures has been one of the most remarkable success stories in the markets. Their age is relatively green at just a little over 50 years old. Originally created to help farmers hedge against price changes between crop planting and harvesting, futures have grown since then to include interest rates, foreign exchange, metals, energy, weather, and even Bitcoin.

Whether trading agricultural commodities, energy futures, metals, stock indexes, or even the softs; futures provide the best bang for your buck. But leverage is a two-sided blade. In this section, MoneyShow.com trading experts provide a deep dive into the current futures market activity and price action to help you find ways to strengthen your portfolio, while mitigating risk and exploiting opportunities in these diverse markets.

Discover unique and critical futures trading strategies to help you generate more consistent profits and better manage your portfolio risk. From in-depth futures market economics to spread trading, you will take away new knowledge to help you better identify trading opportunities. Our contributors will share with you their time-tested commodities investing strategies and futures trading strategies. The insights you will learn will help you in your investing or trading with market intelligence that you cannot find elsewhere.

At the same time, the opportunities now available to individual traders in the option arena are astounding, having exploded in volume and complexity in recent years, offering option traders the ability to trade, hedge, or speculate in just about any stock, ETF, or commodity.

Our goal in these pages is to start you down the path of options trading and help you avoid many of the pitfalls that beginning options traders experience. Some of the top names in trading will familiarize you with options—what they are, how they work, and what opportunities they present. You’ll learn practical knowledge about when it is appropriate to buy/sell puts or calls, covered-call writing strategies, and advice on when to use each of these strategies. More experienced traders will learn profitable options trading strategies to help you make more money and better manage your portfolio risk.