Markets
Commodities: what it is, what moves it and how to study it
What it is, what moves it, when it moves and how to practice it on demo before thinking about a live account.
What it is
The market in a sentence
CFDs on futures contracts of agricultural and industrial commodities.
Instruments HFM lists
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Copper
- Cotton
- Sugar
Examples taken from HFM's specification tables on October 26, 2026. The instruments available depend on the account type.
See the Commodities conditions on hfm.com →What to study
Seasonal markets: learn to read expiry dates and market breaks before practicing them.
Be clear on this
Futures contracts expire and pending orders are cancelled during breaks. Read the specifications on hfm.com.
What moves it
Three forces worth watching
Weather and harvests
Droughts, frosts or good harvests change the supply of coffee, cocoa, sugar or cotton.
Industrial cycle
Copper reflects construction and manufacturing activity, especially in the big economies.
Dollar and logistics
They are priced in dollars and depend on transport and storage costs.
Sessions
When it moves
They follow futures exchange hours, with longer breaks than forex. Contracts expire; HFM specifies dates and hours on each instrument's page.
The exact hours of each instrument are published by HFM and can change.
Live chart
Watch it now
TradingView chart for educational purposes. Prices may differ from those on your HFM platform. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy or sell.
Practice
How to practice it on demo
Pick one commodity and note for two weeks which data or news coincided with each strong move. You do not need to trade it.
- 01
Open a demo account
It is free and uses no real money. Request it with the button on this page.
- 02
Mark levels on the daily chart
Support and resistance from the last few weeks. That way you arrive at each session with a map.
- 03
Calculate the size before trading
Use Arco's calculators to set how much you risk per trade; on demo it counts too.
- 04
Write everything down for a week
What you saw, what you did and what happened. The journal is what gets studied, not the balance.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about Commodities
What happens when the contract expires?
The CFD is based on a futures contract with an expiry date. HFM states in its specifications how it is handled; read it before practicing with that instrument.
Is it a market to start with?
Not the recommended one. These are seasonal markets with technical details; master forex or an index first.
Pick this market and watch it for a week on demo.
It is the first exercise of module 3: mark levels every day and write down what happened.