Operations on the commodity exchange. Question. General scheme of transactions on a commodity exchange Traders on the exchange make transactions
Exchange-traded goods include mass-produced goods that have high-quality homogeneity and interchangeability of batches, which allows trading according to description or samples. The defining feature of an exchange commodity is the presence of an exchange on the relevant market. Agricultural commodities, industrial raw materials and semi-finished products are predominantly exchange traded. Since the late 70s, commodity exchanges began to trade currencies, securities, mortgages, and chartering contracts.
The exchange institute has existed for many centuries. In its development, the commodity exchange went through several stages: from transactions for cash goods to transactions for real goods with delivery on time, that is, after a certain period of time after the conclusion of the contract, and to modern futures transactions that do not provide for mandatory delivery (receipt real goods).
In international trade, commodity futures exchanges are of the greatest importance, but some commodities are traded on real commodity exchanges as well. The number of exchange-traded agricultural goods is 40, and industrial raw materials and semi-finished products - 15, respectively, the number of futures markets exceeds 110 and 40. The average annual volume of futures transactions in all commodities reaches $ 2.5 trillion.
The significant growth in exchange trading has led to an increase in the importance of commodity exchanges for the markets for raw materials and food. For many of their types, the exchange turnover is several times higher than the volume of world trade and world production. The influence of exchange transactions on the prices of the world market and specific transactions, on the results of the economic activity of firms - producers and consumers of these goods, as well as trading firms, is exceptionally great.
Each commodity market consists of two sectors:
1) the market for real goods, on which transactions are concluded on the basis of a private contract by telex, telephone, by signing a contract or concluding a transaction through an auction, auction, etc. for specific parties of goods of various quality, quantity, conditions and delivery times;
2) the actual modern futures exchange; transactions are concluded for an abstract product of standard quantity and quality with uniform terms and conditions of delivery.
Exchange trading participants
The exchange is a meeting place for buyers and sellers, a place where deals are made. The exchange itself does not act as one of the parties to a trading contract, but only provides the most favorable conditions for trading in bulk goods. Exchanges set for all participants in the trade general principles its implementation, provide a place for making transactions at a certain time of the day, develop uniform rules and regulations on the basis of which contracts are concluded, as well as the basic conditions of standard contracts, including with respect to quantity, quality, time and terms of delivery, terms of payment.
Exchanges oversee the sorting, weighing and quality control of goods supplied and dispatched from the warehouses of the exchange; collect and distribute information about chains on goods both for members of the exchange and for other interested parties; provide a system of work that almost always guarantees the fulfillment of the terms of contracts and financial commitments parties.
Most exchanges are corporations. Only individuals can be members of the exchange, and only individuals who have the right to conclude contracts on the exchange from companies. Management is concentrated in the hands of a board of directors elected by all members of the exchange. In his subordination are various committees: financial, compliance with business practices, arbitration, warehousing and sorting, monitoring the order of conclusion of transactions in the exchange ring, etc.
All members of the exchange are divided into those who make transactions only at their own expense, and those who buy and sell contracts both at their own expense and for clients. Through the latter, for a certain commission, all firms and persons who are not members of the exchange conclude exchange transactions.
How is the sale of goods on the exchange carried out
On most of the world's leading exchanges, trading is conducted publicly through shouts or certain hand signals. Operations with each product are carried out in a specially designated place: in the USA it is called a "pit", in other countries - a "ring" or "floor". Transactions are considered legal if they are concluded within these territories only.
Next to the "pit" or directly in it are the employees of the exchange. They register prices as their level changes. Prices are transmitted to the display and simultaneously broadcast around the world through various communication channels. From the moment of a Trade operation, say, with sugar on the London Stock Exchange or with aluminum on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price level can be known within a minute to firms in Tokyo, Melbourne, and Moscow.
To carry out exchange transactions, it is necessary to select possible firms through which they will be carried out, to discuss all financial issues, the procedure for settlements, reporting, etc. Having decided to sell, for example, 100 futures contracts for nickel, which are traded on the London Metal Exchange, with delivery after 3 months, the exporter can simply call or telex a commission house specializing in stock trading or a trading company in London, in any other city and instruct to sell this quantity at the market price. In this case, he does not indicate the price at which he wants to sell, but gives the firm the right to fulfill the order: to sell the goods as soon as possible at the maximum price that can be obtained.
Limiting orders are also possible, that is, sell at a price not lower than that assigned by the seller. Sometimes the time limits for the execution of an order are used: an order for a day, prescribing its execution within one day; orders limiting losses. So, if a contract for oil was sold at $ 16 per barrel, but there are fears that the price will go up sharply, then in order to prevent large losses, an order is given to buy the contract if the price rises to $ 16.5 per barrel.
Having received the appropriate order from the exporter, the "commission house" or the trading company calls their broker in the trading floor of the exchange. They are connected to it by several telephone channels. As soon as the broker receives an order, he is able to execute it within a few seconds; the whole operation takes 2-3 minutes from the moment the exporter calls.
Clearing houses
To guarantee the fulfillment of the obligations of the parties under the futures contract, clearing houses have been set up at almost all exchanges. Through the clearinghouse, contracts are drawn up between the buyer and the seller. She becomes a technical intermediary between them. Thus, not only is the fulfillment of obligations by the buyer and the seller guaranteed (in case of violation of the obligations of one of the parties, the injured party is necessarily compensated by the clearing house), but also the impersonality of transactions and the substitutability of counterparties on them is achieved.
Clearinghouse members are large brokerage and trading firms, which are committed to providing the clearinghouse with sufficient financial resources to guarantee the execution of any exchange transaction. To provide financial resources required to guarantee transactions on the exchange, the clearinghouse requires from all its members, and those from clients, a deposit, called a security deposit, for each purchased or sold futures contract. The deposit is paid on the same day when the transaction is made. The funds are placed in a separate conditional account and cannot be withdrawn until the exchange operation is completed by concluding the opposite transaction, i.e., if the purchase was made by selling, and the sale was made by buying out the contract. The size down payment set for each product by the board of directors, usually in the amount of 5-10% of the value of the product under this contract. The security deposit can be increased or decreased depending on price changes and other market factors.
In addition to the security deposit, each clearinghouse member has to provide an additional deposit in the event of an unfavorable price change, called a "margin" or "variable deposit". Every day after the close of the exchange, the clearing house announces the “settlement price” for each contract and each position, then calculates the net change in value for each exchange contract. If there is a price change not in favor of the firm holding the contract, the firm must pay the difference to the clearinghouse before the exchange opens the next day. Accordingly, the clearinghouse member firm collects a margin from the client. If the price change occurs in favor of the contract holder, then in the United States the clearing house must pay him the difference. In other countries, the difference is not paid until the contract is liquidated. Through this procedure, each participant's account with the clearinghouse is balanced daily.
In the United States, each clearinghouse has a special “guarantee fund”. It can be used to cover unexpected losses resulting from default by participating firms. All this creates the financial stability of the futures market.
The largest modern commodity exchanges are international. They serve the needs of the world market for the relevant product, and the established regimes (currency, trade and tax) do not impede the conduct of arbitrage transactions (i.e. transactions with the aim of making a profit due to the difference in quotations on exchanges different countries), participation in exchange trading of persons and firms - non-residents of the country where the exchange is located and the free transfer of profits from exchange operations.
Exchange operations
The rapid development of exchange trading is associated with the increasing volatility of commodity markets. The conjuncture of commodity markets is characterized by sharp and difficult-to-predict price fluctuations. During the day the price can change by 3-5%, during the week - by 10-15%, during the year - 2 times or more. The most sophisticated methods and tools cannot provide an accurate forecast of price changes. To reduce risks, firms resort to hedging operations on the stock exchange, that is, they supplement ordinary commercial transactions in the real commodity market with futures. Fluctuations in prices and the ability to make large profits in a short time attract speculators to exchanges, that is, firms or persons not associated with the production, processing or trading of the relevant exchange commodity. However, the basis of futures trading is still insurance operations.
Technique of operations
According to the technique of performing operations, two types of safety operations are distinguished:
a) sale of exchange contracts (or "short" hedging);
b) their purchase (or "long" hedging). In addition, a special type of exchange operations can be used - an option (or a deal with a premium).
“Short” hedging is usually used to secure the selling price of the actual commodity that is or will be owned by a trader, farmer, processing or mining firm.
Long hedging is used as a purchase price guarantee for traders and firms that process and consume raw materials.
Benefits of exchange operations
One of the main advantages that the use of insurance operations on the stock exchange gives to firms and which ensured such a rapid growth of stock trading, is the reduction of the risks of possible adverse price changes. This is why exchange contracts form an integral part of an exporter's sales portfolio or importers' coverage.
Importers see them as one of three parts to covering their needs, along with inventories and contracts for real goods with delivery on time. The ratio of the constituent parts depends on the prospects for price changes, the ratio of quotations for short and long term delivery, and the level of bank interest.
Exchange contracts only fix the price level. In case of an incorrect price forecast, they can be quickly eliminated without additional price losses. (When buying a real product, it is practically impossible to correct a forecast error.) At the same time, they allow fixing prices for more distant delivery times than in the market for real goods. Exchange-traded contracts are considered to be a temporary replacement for other types of coverage. As delivery times approach, they are usually replaced with real product contracts. The share of exchange contracts is usually 10-20% of the annual coverage of the needs of firms.
Exporters also sell exchange contracts to hedge their inventory against impairment or to provide a better selling price for goods that have not yet been purchased or produced.
In addition, hedging can improve intercompany planning. By fixing the chain on the exchange for a sufficiently long period of time in advance, the exporter can sell his product at the most convenient time to the best buyer, and the importer can not be tied to a specific supplier and regulate his purchases of real goods according to the time, grade and quality of the supplied goods. The mechanism for fixing prices through futures contracts opens the way for the manufacturer and the exporter to negotiate and sell the goods he has to a specific buyer, buying off the previously sold futures contract when making a deal. Manufacturers who are not bound by fixed capacities also have the opportunity to choose the most efficient product for production, and the importer (consumer) - the most profitable product for processing.
For firms that temporarily accumulate stocks of commodities and which subsequently intend to export them, “arbitrage” or “cost-of-custody” hedging is of interest. It is carried out to capitalize on the expected favorable change in the ratio of prices of real goods and exchange quotations with different delivery times. With a surplus of goods on the market, the price ratio is such (quotations for long delivery times are higher than for short ones) that hedging allows you to finance the costs of storing goods.
Exchange transactions make it possible to hide the performance of large exporters and importers in the market due to the larger capacity of the exchange in comparison with the market for real goods and with the anonymity of exchange transactions. Coordination of large sales or purchases of commodities with exchange transactions is used by firms to pressure prices in the right direction in pre-planned periods of time. If firms do not use the stock exchange, then the exit with large sales or purchases, on the contrary, worsens their competitive position in the commodity markets.
For small exporters and importers, exchange contracts have another advantage - the reliability of the fulfillment of obligations by the counterparty. Due to the fact that buyers and sellers settle with each other through the clearinghouse, an exchange contract is in many respects more reliable than a commercial contract with any specific partner. The seller may declare "force majeure", that is, the impossibility of fulfilling the contract due to circumstances beyond his control. But since the exchange contract does not imply the obligatory actual delivery of the goods, the seller can buy it off and has no right to declare "force majeure" (in case of bankruptcy, he made a guarantee deposit and a margin).
With sharp and significant price fluctuations, sellers often delay delivery already sold goods, do not fulfill the terms of the contract, and sometimes require its complete cancellation. Likewise, when prices fall, buyers refuse to receive and pay for goods on already concluded deals with delivery on time. This is virtually impossible for futures contracts, as negative price differentials are paid daily and payment is guaranteed by the clearinghouse.
The use of the exchange increases the reliability of the execution of a contract for a real product, for which transactions can be concluded with subsequent price fixing. In such transactions, also called "on-call", "with an order to be executed", one party grants the other the right to set the price at any time between the signing of the contract and the delivery of the goods. The price in such contracts consists of two elements:
- exchange quotation ("futures");
- surcharges or discounts from it ("basis"), only the "basis" is subject to bargaining.
The size of the "basis" depends on the type and quality of the goods, the term, delivery terms, conditions and currency of payment, the competitive positions of the buyer and the seller. Typically, the "basis" does not exceed 3% of the exchange quote, which is an independent element of the price of "on-call" transactions. The party that has the right to fix gives an order (as a rule, to an intermediary) to fix the price at a given level of exchange quotations or at a certain time in the future (at the close of the exchange), or fixes the price by transferring to the other party the futures contracts previously purchased (or sold) by it.
The exchange allows the exporter to expand the market capacity. With the expected decrease in prices and the absence of demand for real goods, he can always sell exchange contracts and either buy them back after the sale of the goods, or deliver his goods under exchange contracts (if additional overhead costs are justified). The use of the exchange as a "reservoir" of commercial stocks is especially clearly manifested in the markets of lead, copper and zinc.
Hedging is one of the ways to reduce the cost of trade finance. This concerns the amount and value of loans provided by banks to exporters and importers. The more reliable the loan is, the more of the value of the goods is credited and the lower the interest. For transactions in hedged goods, banks provide loans for large amount and at lower interest rates, such a product, in the event of its forced sale by the bank, will be sold practically without loss in price. When selling a non-hedged product, banks may incur losses due to a fall in prices; the terms of its lending are less favorable than that of the hedged one.
Exchange transactions are a tool that ensures the receipt of payments while maintaining the ability to use market conditions to optimize prices:
- if the sale of goods is dictated by the need to receive money for urgent payments in conditions of low prices, and the forecast for the development of the market is upward, then such an exporter incurs losses;
- if the exporter buys exchange contracts immediately after selling the goods and receiving money, he, solving the cash problem, receives additional income from the rise in prices and at the same time saves on storage costs. Such an operation is especially beneficial when the prices for goods with long-term delivery times are lower than those with close ones.
A special role to increase the efficiency of export-import operations, the speed of receiving, processing and analyzing information, as well as the time during which the price can be fixed, plays a role. Most exchanges have such a significant turnover that, using modern means of communication, it is possible to buy or sell a large batch of futures contracts in almost a few minutes without causing any noticeable changes in price.
It will take much longer to conclude a deal with the same quantity of goods, during which the price can change sensitively. Having carried out an operation on the exchange and fixing the price, the company gets time to calmly negotiate with specific buyers and sellers.
One of the important advantages of using the exchange mechanism is a significant expansion possible options operations, increased flexibility and maneuverability at a lower cost. In the event of unfavorable changes in market conditions, futures contracts can be quickly liquidated, limiting potential losses. It is quite easy to change delivery times by eliminating contracts for one delivery time and purchasing them in another. Let's say a copper producer has entered into an export contract, but for some reason cannot deliver the goods on time. It is almost impossible to change the delivery time, in any case it will be very expensive.
But if the manufacturer sells exchange contracts, then he will not expose himself to such a risk: at any time he can buy them off, then sell the sheaf with delivery at a convenient time for himself. A similar situation can arise with quantity: when concluding a contract, the exporter counts on one quantity, and as he approaches the shipment, he finds that he cannot fulfill his obligations in full.
Additional opportunity maneuvering is provided by futures contracts to buy and sell currencies. Wide room for maneuver for arbitrage operations is opened by the presence of a large number of futures markets for related goods, such as raw sugar and refined sugar, soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal, Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee, oil, fuel oil , gasoline, etc.
For large exporters or importers, hedging allows them to exert a targeted influence on price movements and receive additional benefits. Firms that do not use the exchange mechanism are completely devoid of this. The entry into the market of a real product with both large sales and purchases has a negative impact on final price sales or purchases.
When there is a shortage of goods, large consumers first buy exchange contracts, and then real goods, which accelerates the rise in prices, but when prices rise, they gradually sell those previously purchased for more low prices futures contracts. With a surplus of goods on the market, they first massively liquidate previously purchased futures contracts, which leads to a further drop in prices, and then buy real goods at reduced prices, since the preliminary purchase of futures contracts is carried out secretly, over a relatively long period of time, this has little effect on the dynamics prices, which is facilitated by the large capacity of the futures market and a large number of trading participants.
There are other options for combining operations on the exchange and on the market for real goods, both for importers and exporters. Large purchases or sales of real goods on the market, especially with close delivery times, due to the fact that they become known almost immediately to most traders (according to information on the purpose of tonnage, according to exporters and traders), on the contrary, have a large impact on prices.
Difficulties of exchange operations
It cannot be considered that hedging is a panacea, that buying and selling exchange contracts by themselves will solve all problems and increase the efficiency of foreign trade operations. The use of the exchange is just one of the means that, if used skillfully, can increase foreign exchange earnings or reduce import costs. It is necessary to clearly imagine all the pitfalls.
The difficulty with trading in the futures markets is that all futures exchanges have their own rules governing the terms of the contracts. Therefore, you need to have accurate information and sufficient experience to take into account all the details of the rules for a particular exchange. Many exchanges "are regulated not only by their own rules, but also by the instructions of state institutions, which requires special knowledge from participants in exchange trading. Many exchanges set limits for daily price fluctuations, while they are absent in the real market. In some cases, this can distort the ratio of exchange quotes and prices of real goods.
Deviations in the dynamics of these prices can also be associated with sharper fluctuations in exchange quotations:
a) with the participation of significant speculative capital in exchange operations,
b) with greater ease and speed of the conclusion of futures transactions than in the markets for real goods.
For those who buy futures contracts, the risk also lies in the fact that all exchanges tend to protect the interests of the seller in order to maintain the stability and vitality of the market. This is done in order to prevent attempts to monopolize the market by buying up a very large number of contracts, demanding the delivery of goods on them and dictating conditions to the seller. Therefore, during periods of such artificial gouging of prices, the size of the guarantee deposit can significantly increase, trade is limited only to the elimination of contracts for a given delivery time, the delivery time can be extended beyond the period established by the exchange rules. Although such measures are introduced extremely rarely, their possibility cannot be ruled out.
Some firms, especially those with insufficient experience on the stock exchange, underestimate the factor of financial liquidity. In commodity trading, it plays a very important role. The fact is that the size of the guarantee deposit is no more than 10% of the price. For an exporter who sold an exchange contract for oil in London (1000 barrels) at a chain of $ 14 per barrel, a deposit of $ 1400 must be paid. In the event of a 10% rise in prices, i.e. up to $ 15.4 per barrel, the amount of money that he must deposit through a broker to the clearinghouse doubles to $ 2800 ($ 1400 - a deposit + $ 1400 margin), and triples by 20% ($ 1400). - deposit + $ 2800 margin).
Although this rise in prices is fully compensated by the receipt of increased proceeds from the sale of real goods, it can be received only some time after the sale of oil, and in case of an unfavorable change in prices, it is necessary to settle accounts with the broker almost every day. Therefore, along with the development of the correct tactics for entering the stock exchange, based on the forecast of price changes and the use of various techniques that limit losses on the exchange transaction, it is important to have an agreement with the bank on crediting possible payments for the exchange operation before the receipt of funds from the sale of real goods.
JSC "Belarusian currency and stock exchange "(1998) and Government agency Interbank Currency Exchange (1996).
The Commodity Exchange is an organization of combined legal entities and individuals carrying out production and commercial activities in order to provide services in conclusion exchange transactions, identifying commodity prices, supply and demand for goods, studying,
streamlining and simplifying trade and related trade operations.
Commodity exchanges operate on the basis of self-government, economic independence, are legal entity,
have an independent balance sheet, current account and other bank accounts. Commodity exchanges can be organized both in the form of commercial and non-profit organizations... The law did not establish special requirements for the organizational and legal form of commodity exchanges. The commodity exchange is registered in general order, exchange activity is subject to licensing.
The exchange has the right to carry out only economic activity,
directly related to the organization and regulation of exchange trading. The Exchange does not have the right to engage in trade, intermediary and other activities not related to the organization of exchange trading, to invest its capital in over-the-counter structures.
The Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Commodity Exchanges" established that
Bodies of state power and administration, prosecutors and courts, their officials and specialists, as well as bodies of public associations pursuing political goals and their staff members do not have the right to be members and founders of a commodity exchange.
The exchange is a trading place with a special device,
allowing to bring the buyer with the seller in order to conclude transactions based on the mechanism of free competition, which allows
identify real market prices for goods, taking into account supply and demand.
The governing bodies of a commodity exchange are organized depending on the organizational and legal form of the exchange. The supreme governing body of the exchange is the general meeting of the members of the exchange. Structure,
the procedure for the formation and competence of management bodies is established by the internal documents of each exchange. On the commodity
exchange, in addition to the commodity sections, various functional divisions are organized: committees or trade, expert, registration, quotation and other commissions. On every exchange
an exchange arbitration commission and a settlement commission must be formed.
The main principles of the activity of commodity exchanges:
∙ equality of participants in exchange trading;
∙ application of free market prices;
∙ public holding of exchange trading.
Rights of commodity exchanges:
∙ establish your own rules for exchange trading;
∙ create divisions of the exchange and approve regulations on them;
∙ develop your own standards and standard contracts;
∙ suspend exchange trading if the prices of exchange transactions during the day deviate by more than a size determined by the exchange;
∙ establish fees for members of the exchange, fees for services;
∙ establish a fee for registering transactions on the exchange, as well as fines and other sanctions for violating exchange rules.
Duties of commodity exchanges:
Creation of conditions for carrying out exchange trading;
Regulation of exchange transactions;
Regulation of prices based on the ratio of supply and demand for goods;
Providing organizational services to members and visitors of the exchange;
Collection, processing and dissemination of information related to market conditions.
An exchange transaction is a transaction that meets the set of the specified conditions:
If it represents the sale and purchase, delivery and exchange of goods admitted to circulation on a commodity exchange;
If its participants are members of the exchange;
If it is submitted for registration and registered on the exchange.
A transaction registered on an exchange is not subject to notarial registration. The content of the exchange transaction is not subject to disclosure.
Exchange operations are allowed only to members of exchanges or brokers.
Stock brokers - individuals registered on the exchange in accordance with its charter, whose duty is to fulfill the instructions of the exchange members submitted by them. For brokers
it is prohibited to divulge commercial secrets on the exchange transactions of clients.
On the exchange, sections can be organized for trading both in stock goods and for trading in future goods or contractual deliveries. Buy and sell transactions on the exchange are made through brokerage houses, which are opened by members of the exchange. Each member of the exchange, regardless of the size of the share contributed to the authorized capital by him, has the right to open 1 brokerage
office. The activities of the brokerage office are financed by the member of the exchange who opened it, and the head of the brokerage office and brokers are also appointed by him.
Broker functions:
∙ mediation in the conclusion of transactions by accepting orders from clients of the exchange and finding the appropriate counterparties;
∙ representing clients' interests by conducting exchange operations and concluding transactions on their own behalf at their expense;
∙ advising trading parties on the conclusion of exchange transactions, quality and properties of goods;
∙documenting transactions and their submission to the exchange registration;
∙ preparation of opinions on trade practices, trade conditions;
∙ participation as experts in the production of expertise.
When performing exchange transactions, the broker acts either on the basis of the client's application, or on the written or oral instructions of the exchange members.
Stock brokers are obliged to keep the secrecy of their clients' operations and can report information about these operations only at the request of the prosecutor's office, investigative and judiciary by special order of the exchange committee. Exchange Committee,
the management of the exchange and other bodies of the exchange do not interfere in the relationship between the brokerage firm and the member of the exchange that opened it.
There are two main types of transactions on the exchange: transactions for real goods and forward (futures) transactions.
Transactions for real goods are completed by the transfer of goods from the seller to the buyer, that is, the delivery and acceptance of the real goods at one of the exchange warehouses. This means that the seller who sold the product is obliged to have this product in stock and actually deliver it within the time period specified in the contract. Transactions for real goods, depending on the term, are divided into cash or spot transactions with immediate delivery and forward transactions with future delivery.
Unlike transactions for real goods, urgent (futures) transactions do not imply obligations of the parties to deliver or accept real goods, but involve the purchase and sale of rights to the goods (paper transactions). A futures contract cannot be simply canceled or liquidated. If it is concluded, it can be liquidated either by concluding an opposite transaction with an equal amount of goods, or by supplying the specified goods within the time period stipulated by the contract. In urgent transactions, the buyer does not expect to receive the values he buys, and the seller does not expect to transfer the values he is selling. The result of such transactions is not the transfer of real goods, but the payment or receipt of the difference between the price of the contract on the day of its conclusion and the price on the day of execution.
Arbitrage transactions are carried out with the aim of making a profit due to the difference in quotations on exchanges in different countries.
Especially it is necessary to such a type of exchange transactions as options and write a few of the most important concepts associated with them.
All transactions that are carried out on exchanges assume the use of standard contracts. Since these contracts do not imply the immediate and obligatory delivery of goods, they are called futures contracts (futures). This type of contract is strictly uniform, standardized in accordance with the exchange rules and contains a specific requirement for the quality of goods, their quantity, timing and place of delivery, etc. the buyer (or their representatives brokers) on the exchange.
Thus, a sale and purchase transaction is made without inspecting the goods for a certain number of futures. Futures, unlike contracts for the supply of real goods, can be executed in two ways: by concluding an opposite transaction for an equal amount of goods on any day in accordance with the terms of delivery (the so-called offset), or by supplying a specified product.
Although transactions ending with the delivery of goods account for an extremely small part of the exchange turnover (for example, on American exchanges their share is: for metals - 1.2%; coffee, cocoa, sugar - 0.7%; wheat and corn - on average 0 , 6% of the total volume of transactions), the possibility of delivering goods to an exchange warehouse or receiving goods from an exchange warehouse performs an important function of connecting the futures market with the real goods market.
Thus, on a commodity exchange, there is always the possibility of buying or selling a real commodity, despite the fact that modern exchanges are mainly a futures and options market.
All futures contracts in mandatory must be registered with the clearinghouse of the exchange ( Clearing house). When registering a futures contract, the concluding contract pays a security deposit to the clearinghouse in the form of a deposit (the initial deposit is usually 10-15% of the contract value) and margin (an additional deposit in the event of a change in the price of the goods). After the contract is registered with the clearinghouse of the exchange, it can be unilaterally liquidated by either party by entering into an offset transaction. In this case, the party that liquidates the contract either wins (receives the amount of the winnings in the clearinghouse), or loses (deposits the amount of the loss in the clearinghouse).
On commodity exchanges, options can be entered into with commodities and futures contracts.
Currently, about 100 so-called exchange commodities are traded on commodity exchanges in the world. They account for about 20% of international trade. These products can be conventionally grouped into the following groups:
- - energy raw materials: oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, fuel oil, propane;
- - non-ferrous and precious metals: copper, aluminum, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, gold, silver, platinum, etc.:
- - cereals: wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley, rice;
- - oilseeds and products of their processing: flaxseeds and cottonseeds, soybeans, beans, soybean oil, soybean meal;
- - live animals and meat: cattle, live pigs, bacon;
- - food products: raw sugar, refined sugar, coffee, cocoa beans, potatoes, vegetable oils, spices, eggs, orange juice concentrate, peanuts;
- - textile raw materials: cotton, jute, natural and artificial silk, washed wool, etc.
- - industrial raw materials: rubber, lumber, plywood.
By concluding deals on the exchange, their participants can pursue the following goals:
- - buying a real product;
- - carrying out speculative transactions;
- - hedging (insurance against possible price changes).
Buying and selling real goods.
These transactions are made:
- - manufacturers for the purpose of selling their products;
- - consumers in order to provide themselves with the necessary goods, mainly raw materials for further processing;
- - traders with a view further resale goods to end consumers.
Speculative operations are carried out on the exchange with the aim of making a profit from the sale and purchase of exchange contracts as a result of the difference between the price of the exchange contract on the day of conclusion and the price on the day of its execution in case of a favorable price change for one of the parties (the seller and the buyer).
Often the charter of an exchange implies a different status of the members of the exchange.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, for example, members with the status Gim can transact on all futures contracts listed in the government securities futures market directory. Privileged members of this exchange with the status IDEM enjoy the benefits of trading all Index, Debt and Precious Metals futures contracts. Members of the same exchange with the status COM have the right to trade on contracts presented in the list of commodity options on the exchange.
The highest governing body of the exchange (after the general meeting of the founding members) is a special elected body (board of directors, board of governors), to which committees, executive management, and hired personnel are subordinate.
So, the commodity exchange is a market mechanism that performs a number of stabilizing functions in the economy, namely, it provides:
- - liquidity and optimal distribution of the most important commodities;
- - stabilization of prices and costs, exchange rates, money circulation and credit.
commodity exchange forward contract
What are the rules of the mechanism for concluding transactions on the exchange? In the main trading mode, most exchanges organize trading according to the rules double counter auction. These rules are very simple.
If at a certain moment the system receives a sell order and a buy order for one security and the purchase price is greater than or equal to the sale price, the deal is automatically recorded.
That is why in exchange system there can be no situation in which the price best offer to buy will be higher or equal to the price of the best offer to sell.
What does the order book display? It shows buy and sell orders. The order book is a real-time list of buy orders on one side and sell orders on the other.
A trader should take into account that when several orders are submitted to the trading system, the transaction will be fixed at the price of the order that entered the trading system earlier.
That is, when you firmly decided to buy, you can indicate a price slightly different from the market price in order to buy or sell securities even if someone has time to submit an order in the same direction earlier.
The FIFO principle
Finally, it should be borne in mind that on the exchange, orders from different clients at the same price are aggregated in the order book.
The exchange sums up the volumes in all orders at the same price and displays them in the order book as a single line.
At the same time, there is a certain order of execution of such aggregated orders - the orders that entered the system earlier will be used first (the FIFO principle).
Limited applications
The orders considered above are called limited - in them you indicate the total number of specific lots that you want to buy or sell, and the price.
Limited application guarantees that you sell or buy no more than the specified quantity valuable papers(maybe less!) at a price not worse than the specified one, this is the most popular type of orders.
The problem with a limit bid is that no one guarantees its execution... Your order can stay on the exchange all day long, and there is no counter order with a suitable price for the deal to be fixed.
Market orders
In case you want immediately for the best available market price, you can use so called market order... In orders of this type, only the number of securities that you want to buy or sell is indicated.
When such an order enters the system, the trading system sequentially concludes trades in order from best price to worst until the entire required volume is purchased or sold.
If a market order could not be fully executed, then, unlike a limit order, its remainder does not remain in the system, but simply disappears.
Stop orders
There are also stop orders representing a special type trade orders that are not served immediately.
A stop order has an activation condition, only upon completion of which it will be transferred to the exchange.
An example of a stop order: "Buy 100 lots of Sberbank at a price of 80.50 if at least one transaction is registered at Sberbank with a price not lower than 80.25". If the price of Sberbank reaches 80.25 (transactions at this price or higher will be registered), then a limited order should be placed to purchase 100 lots of Sberbank at a price of 80.50 rubles per item.
Additionally, watch a short video on the principles of reflecting information in the order book:
1 Exchange transactions …………………………………………………………. | |
1.1 Concept of transactions with exchange commodities ……………………………. | |
1.2 Types and procedure for concluding transactions on the commodity exchange ..................... | |
1.3 Types and procedure for concluding transactions on stock exchange ………….. | |
1.4 Types and procedure for concluding transactions on the currency exchange ………… | |
2 Identifying the exchange price ………………………………………………… | |
2.1 The essence and significance of exchange quotations ................................................................................................................. | |
2.2 Setting the price at the auction …………………………………… .. | |
2.3 The method of establishing a single rate …………………………………. | |
2.4 Fixing as a way of setting prices …………………………… ... | |
Conclusions………………………………………………………………………… |
Exchange transactions
The concept of transactions with exchange commodities
Bipzhevaya cdelka - vzaimnoe Privacy policy o pepedache ppav and obyazannoctey in otnoshenii bipzhevogo tovapa, kotopoe doctigaetcya ychactnikami topgov in xode bipzhevogo topga, pegictpipyetcya nA bipzhe in yctanovlennom popyadke and otpazhaetcya in bipzhevom dogovope.
When making transactions on the stock exchange, it is necessary to read its four sides:
- the organization shows the order of actions and the documents used for this, which are necessary for the transaction;
- economic indicates the purpose of the transaction, its efficiency and the risks that must be taken into account when the transaction is closed;
- the legal statute establishes the rights and obligations of the parties on the transaction and their property responsibility;
- ethical reflects the public attitude to transactions. From this point of view, the presence and observance of certain standards is necessary, the rules of conduct when closing transactions. The ethical side reflects a degree of confidence in transactions with a trading commodity and the desire of an individual investor to include their savings in it.
These aspects of the transaction find their reflection in its content, that is, whether or not they are also included in the range of issues that are resolved on the basis that these are
- place of conclusion - stock exchange;
- subjects - members of the exchange and other participants in exchange trading;
- obligatory registration of the transaction;
- the object of the transaction, that is, the exchange commodity;
- volume of a transaction - that is the number of exchange commodities that are offered for sale or required for purchase;
- the price at which the transaction will be closed;
- term of completion of the transaction, i.e. when the seller must provide, and the buyer must accept the exchange commodity;
- term of settlement for the transaction, i.e. when the buyer has to pay for the purchased exchange goods.
Any transaction has the following principal scheme, covering its life cycle, presented in Figure 1.
Figure 1 - Principle scheme for organizing the closing of the trading on the stock exchange
The introduction of orders into the exchange trading system is carried out by the trading participants.
An order for an exchange operation must indicate:
- the exact name of the exchange commodity;
- type of transaction (purchase, sale);
- the amount of the exchange commodity offered for the transaction;
- the price at which the deal should be executed;
- the term of the transaction (for today, until the end of the week or month);
- type of transaction.
3the conclusion of the transaction may occur different ways... Transactions can be concluded directly between the seller and the buyer, that is, directly or through an intermediary. In this case, various schemes for closing transactions are possible.
If the transaction is carried out without the help of the middleman, then by taking care of the transaction, it is necessary to make an early effort between the supplier and the purchaser (Figure 2).
Money |
Purchase order |
Product |
Product |
Sales order |
Money |
Sales order |
Figure 6 - The relationship between the seller and the buyer through the system of double intermediation
If transactions are carried out through an intermediary, then the client (the seller or the purchaser) must conclude with him either a contract of payment, or a contract of the company.
As a result, each of its participants draws up their own internal accounting documents reflecting the fact of the transaction and its main parameters (signed forms of purchase and sale agreements, entries in transaction logs, brokerage and brokerage notes, "reports" of traders, marks on the forms of executive orders, printouts of telex messages and so on).
Reconciliation of the parameters of the concluded deal. At this stage, all accidental discrepancies in understanding the essence and subject of the concluded transaction are eliminated. Some exchanges do not have this stage, and such transactions are called "fixed" or "approved". Depending on the mechanism for organizing the reconciliation, the final documents of a successful reconciliation may be written notes or telex printouts from contractors to each other; computer files or special sheets - reconciliations from a special reconciliation organization, confirming the fact of a successful reconciliation. These documents serve as input documents for the next stage of the transaction.
Clearing includes:
- the procedure for analyzing the final reconciliation documents for their authenticity and correctness of execution;
- calculation of the amounts of money to be transferred and the number of exchange commodities to be delivered following the results of the transaction;
- registration of settlement documents.
The execution of the transaction involves the reciprocal fulfillment of obligations: delivery of the exchange commodity to the buyer and transfer Money the seller. Exchanges and clearing organizations usually operate on a “delivery versus payment” principle, which means the simultaneous fulfillment of obligations by both parties, which can protect them from unnecessary risks associated with possible insolvency or bad faith of the counterparty.
Depending on the client's status, transactions can be divided into:
- wholesale, which are carried out for copying and for institutional investors;
- retail, which are performed for individuals, i.e. individual investors.
When entering into wholesale transactions, it is necessary to take into account the limits that are imposed on institutional investors. Happimep for vnebyudzhetnyx fondov cdelki mogyt covepshatcya tolko c gocydapctvennymi tsennymi bymagami, invectitsionnye fondy ne mogyt nappavlyat nA pokypky tsennyx bymag one sort emitenta bolee 5% cvoego yctavnogo kapitala etc.
Depending on the organization of the transaction, they are divided into on-board and offshore. In this case, on-site or off-shore can be as transactions to be carried out immediately, as well as urgent.
Types and procedure for concluding transactions on the commodity exchange
A transaction on a commodity exchange is a mutually agreed action of trading participants aimed at establishing, terminating or changing their rights and obligations in relation to exchange commodities, performed at the premises of the exchange during the established hours of its work.
In exchange practice, there are two main types of transactions (Figure 7):
- transactions with real goods;
- transactions without real goods.
Figure 7 - Types of transactions on the commodity exchange
Transactions with real goods are transactions that are made on goods that are during trading on the territory of the exchange in warehouses belonging to it or are expected to arrive at the exchange on the day of trading before the end of the exchange meeting, as well as on exchange goods that are at the time of the conclusion of the transaction in the way, to the goods, shipped or ready for shipment, to the goods in the seller's warehouse.
Among the transactions with real goods on the commodity exchange, one can single out (Figure 8):
- transactions with an immediate delivery time;
- with a delayed delivery date;
- other transactions.
Figure 8 - Types of transactions with real goods
Deals with an immediate delivery time are made to the goods, which are available at the store of the store (the seller) or on the way. Therefore, they are often called cash. Such transactions are formalized by the sale-purchase agreement. Their purpose is the physical transition of the product from the seller to the purchaser.
Deals with delayed delivery differ from the first ones that:
- it can be done as a product that is available, as well as a product that will be produced by the time of delivery;
- the term of completion does not coincide with the moment of connection, as a rule, such transactions are closed for a period of not more than one year;
- are formalized by the contract of delivery, i.e. the seller accepts the obligation to deliver the goods to the driver at the set time, and the driver to accept the food and prepare the food.
Other transactions include barter transactions in which the goods have been exchanged for goods or acquired goods plus money
A forward transaction is a transaction for goods that are transferred by the seller to the ownership of the buyer on the terms of delivery and settlements agreed by the parties within the specified term in the future. Such a transaction is formalized by a forward contract, which is a written obligation of the seller, within the time specified in the contract, to deliver a specific cash product of a certain volume and quality at a fixed price. In turn, the buyer has the right to demand from the seller the delivery of the goods within the terms specified in the contract, having previously paid the cost of the contract.
The advantage of such transactions is that a predetermined price allows sellers of real goods to receive the planned profit and cover their costs, and buyers - to insure against the risk of price increases and save on the rental of warehouse premises.
The disadvantages are that forward contracts are non-standard, so the seller and the buyer need to agree on the volume of delivery, quantity of goods, delivery time, which delays the conclusion of the transaction.
Deals with a delayed delivery time or stock transactions are considered to be risky, since there is a possibility of losses, such as the supply, as well as the purchase of oil or In order to reduce the risk associated with this transaction, the trading practice presupposes the different types of forex transactions presented in Figure 9.
Figure 9 - Types of transactions with a delayed delivery date
Therefore, the types of forward exchange transactions include:
- a transaction with a pledge is an agreement in which one counterparty pays to another counterparty at the time of its conclusion an amount mutually determined by the agreement between them as a guarantee for the fulfillment of these obligations. The deposit was paid by one of the parties in order to guarantee the fulfillment of the obligations before the other. Therefore, for a transaction with a deposit on a purchase, the payer will issue a purchaser, and for a transaction with a deposit for sale, the seller;
- a deal with a premium is an agreement in which one of the counterparties, on the basis of a special application, until a certain day, for a fixed fee, receives the right to demand from its counterparty fulfill the obligations under the agreement or completely refuse the transaction.
The difference between transactions with a premium from transactions with a deposit in the fact that the first can be referred to the category of legal ones, since they can not be used, and only
There are several types of premium deals:
- simple transactions with a premium - the payer of the premium receives the so-called compensation right;
- double deals with a premium - these are contracts in which the payer of the premium gets the right to choose between the buyer's position and the seller's position, as well as the right to withdraw from the deal;
- complex transactions with a premium are contracts that are a combination of two opposite transactions with a premium, concluded by the same brokerage firm with two other participants in exchange trading;
- multiple transactions with a premium - these are contracts in which one of the counterparties obtains the right to increase by so many times the amount of goods subject to transfer or acceptance, in accordance with the nature of the transaction. The bonus is paid only for rejected or transferred quantity of goods.
A type of transactions without real goods are futures (urgent) transactions that are carried out with goods that are not available at the time of the transaction.
Futures transactions are a logical continuation forward transactions, but unlike the latter, they do not provide for the obligations of the parties to deliver or accept real goods, but involve the sale and purchase of rights to the goods, which are formalized in a futures contract.
A futures transaction is an agreement between a seller and a buyer for the delivery of a commodity in the future at a currently agreed price.
Futures contract (futures) as model document includes the following important articles:
- the size of the consignment, that is, the amount of products included in one contract. This size is usually linked to the standard carrying capacity of the specialized means of transport for the type of goods concerned;
- the standard of a given type of product for the varieties used in relation to it;
- indication of the place of delivery of the consignment to the warehouses of the exchange;
- an indication of the delivery or acceptance time with the definition of the trading year (trading years according to different types products differ in terms of the beginning and end of the season for their mass sale), month, as well as the last day of purchase and sale of this contract and the last day of delivery of goods to warehouses;
- an indication of the price, adequate to the batch size of the corresponding product and its standard, as well as the delivery time, depending on which it changes;
- indication of the trading hours for this futures contract on the commodity exchange.
When a futures transaction is concluded, the price of the goods and the timing of its delivery are fixed in the contract. Delivery times are determined by standards specially adopted on exchanges. The purpose of a futures transaction is to get the difference between the price of the contract at the time of its conclusion and the price on the day the contract expires.
Compared to cash trading, this type of transaction has significant advantages in terms of reducing the social necessary costs labor and capital to move the mass of commodities from producers to consumers. At the same time, it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of transporting goods, their reloading, improving the quality, since when concluding exchange transactions, not the goods themselves are transferred for a period (it may not yet be produced at that moment), but the right to receive them. Fixed-term transactions speed up turnover and thereby save the capital required for trading.
To reduce the price risk of commodity exchange customers, options were introduced.
An option is the right to buy or sell a certain type of futures contract at a predetermined price within an agreed period. In exchange for obtaining such a right, the buyer of the option pays the seller a certain amount - a premium. As a result, the buyer's risk is limited by this premium, and the option seller's risk is reduced by the amount of the premium received.
On commodity exchanges, options can be entered into with commodities and futures contracts.
Futures differs from an option in that its execution is mandatory and the risk on this contract is higher.
The procedure for concluding transactions on the commodity exchange is shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10 - The procedure for concluding transactions on the commodity exchange
The purchase and sale transaction is concluded between the seller and the buyer, but intermediaries must represent their interests on the exchange. Therefore, the seller and the buyer turn to a brokerage firm, where they conclude agreements with brokers.
The buyer sends a buy order to his broker, and the seller sends a sell order. Then they agree on the terms of communication. In this case, the seller and the buyer provide their brokers with powers of attorney under the contract of order.
The seller provides his broker with guarantees of the availability of goods, and the buyer - guarantees of solvency. The seller and the buyer then pay for the brokerage.
Then intermediaries of the seller and the buyer interact on the exchange. Brokers carry out accreditation on the exchange and submit applications for participation in trading. In this case, the seller's broker provides the exchange with an examination of the goods put up for sale. In turn, the exchange provides trading participants with information about all goods put up for trading. She carries out the admission of brokers to the exchange hall.
Then, directly, exchange trading takes place, as a result of which the transactions concluded and, accordingly, exchange contracts are registered. After that, brokers provide reports to their clients.
Based on the concluded exchange transactions, the seller delivers the goods to the buyer, who, in turn, pays for the given goods.
Statistical data on exchange transactions at the OJSC “Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange”. To assess the work of the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange, we present statistical information. Figure 11 provides information on the total volume of transactions for 2011-2012.
Figure 11 - The total volume of exchange transactions in 2011-2012, billion rubles
In January-December 2012, the total volume of exchange trading amounted to 11701 billion rubles, which is 1.9 times more than in the same period last year (6124 billion rubles).
Figure 12 provides information on the number of concluded deals for the same period.
Figure 12 - The number of concluded transactions in 2011-2012
In 2011, 154701 transactions were made on the exchange, in 2012 the number of transactions increased by 1.3 and amounted to 201696.
Figure 13 provides information on the share of each section in the total volume of transactions in 2011.
Figure 13 - The share of each section in the total volume of transactions in 2011,%
The largest share in the total volume of transactions belongs to the metal products section - 83.82%, and the smallest share belongs to the agricultural products section - 0.58%.
Figure 14 shows information on the share of each section in the total volume of transactions in 2012.
Figure 14 - The share of each section in the total volume of transactions in 2012,%
In 2012, the share of the metal products section increased by 1.99 percentage points and amounted to 85.54%, the share of the timber products section decreased by 1.53 percentage points and amounted to 10.47%, the share of agricultural products increased by 0.58 percentage points and amounted to 1. 16%, the share of the industrial and consumer goods decreased by 0.77 percentage points and amounted to 2.83%.