Energies

The energy market covers the fuels that power the global economy. StoicMarkets offers three energy CFDs. US Oil tracks West Texas Intermediate, the North American crude benchmark priced at Cushing, Oklahoma. UK Oil tracks Brent crude, the benchmark for roughly two-thirds of the world's traded oil. XNG/USD tracks US natural gas. The two crude grades usually move together, and the gap between them, the Brent-WTI spread, tells traders about regional supply. US Oil and UK Oil are the two most-watched crude benchmarks in the world.

Oil is driven by the balance of supply and demand. On the supply side, the OPEC+ group sets production quotas that can move the price sharply when they change. US shale output and the weekly EIA inventory report round out the supply picture. Demand tracks the health of the global economy. Geopolitics adds a risk premium, since conflict near major producers or shipping lanes threatens supply. Natural gas has a rhythm of its own. It swings hard on weather forecasts, storage levels and cold-season heating demand. Gas is also a regional market, so a cold snap or a supply disruption in one area can move the price on its own.

Energy CFDs trade nearly around the clock through the week. They are among the most volatile instruments on the platform, and the Wednesday EIA inventory release often triggers a fast move. Energies carry leverage up to 1:20 on our server, a lower rate than forex that reflects their volatility. Gas in particular can gap between sessions. Because energies trade in dollars, the strength of the dollar feeds into the price alongside the supply and demand picture. These are leveraged CFDs, and a sudden supply headline can move the price further and faster than expected, so losses can exceed the margin posted.