Using Socrates to Research Commodity Markets

At a basic level, commodities (agriculture, energy, metals) are the heartbeat of society. The production, concentration, importing, exporting and consumption can have a huge impact on socioeconomic conditions around the world. This dynamic can play out in financial markets where commodities such as oil, natural gas, gold, silver, wheat, and soybeans, are traded on exchanges around the world as financial assets.

Consider crude oil, for instance. When the price of oil falls significantly, the real-world impact can be felt with a drop in the cost of fuel, which lowers transportation costs, which can ultimately lead to lower prices for goods (and potential for improved financials for related companies). At the same time, energy companies may face reduced revenues, which among other things, can potentially influence stock markets as well.

Considering the influence of commodity prices, the more you understand how commodities interact with other financial markets, the more informed your financial decision-making can be. Commodities themselves can also be worthwhile investments, offering opportunities for diversification and profit, for those who choose to spend the time to research and develop expertise on these markets.

Understanding these interconnected dynamics takes time, and requires powerful research tools with historical data. As a comprehensive market research platform, the Socrates Platform is used by thousands of investors to study price trends, patterns and cycles of global financial markets - including commodity markets - to bolster their decision-making. To help you decide if Socrates is right for you, let’s explore how our platform can help inform your market research.

Which Commodity Markets Does Socrates Cover?

The Socrates Platform covers the major commodities traded around the world, including wheat, soy, corn, gold, silver, oil, natural gas, cattle, cotton, cocoa and others - including major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum. Socrates utilizes proprietary computer models that analyze historical data to identify potential patterns, trends and cycles of financial markets for an unbiased view of market activity.

The focus on historical data is vital for understanding price performance of commodity markets, which are often influenced by seasonal patterns, population, weather, trade agreements, geopolitical events, and economic cycles. While certain newer commodities are covered based on their relevance to the investor community - such as crypto - the requirement for coverage in the Socrates Platform remains the same: there must be enough historical data to allow Socrates' models to produce valuable insights.

Using Socrates to Research Commodity Markets

As previously mentioned, the prices of many commodities markets can be seen to follow cyclical patterns. Agricultural products, for instance, have harvest cycles that can cause predictable price changes at different times of the year. Similarly, energy commodities like natural gas often see price fluctuations based on seasonal demand. Recognizing these underlying cycles can be important for investors and traders as they develop their strategies.

Technical analysis, which uses market history and cycles to understand price trends, is an ideal approach for studying commodity markets. With an emphasis on long-term historical data, the Socrates Platform offers set of unique technical analysis tools for your research, including proprietary indicators and easy-to-read price charts that offer insights into commodity cycles.

Additionally, Socrates enables users to research commodity market data across different currency types. This feature allows investors to understand how global economic factors, such as exchange rates and inflation, influence commodity prices around the world.

Explore our membership plans for a list of features and information available at each tier.

For an idea of what to expect, here are examples of three tools available within Socrates:

1. Global Market Watch (GMW)

Available to all Socrates Platform users, Global Market Watch (GMW) uses pattern recognition algorithms to analyze the price movement of every stock available to research within the Socrates Platform. The GMW identifies repeating historical patterns and emerging trends, providing users with a ‘cheat sheet’ highlighting potential sharp moves or turning points in the market. As a starting point for research, the GMW helps you spot opportunities that warrant further investigation.

2. The Reversal System

Available to Pro and Enterprise members, the Reversal System helps users research the question: "At what price level might the current price trend reverse direction?" The system identifies pressure points in market price that can be studied as areas of possible technical support (bearish reversals) or technical resistance (bullish reversals). These Reversal points can help you follow a market's price activity while also anticipating potential shifts from downtrends to uptrends, or vice versa.

3. Timing Arrays

Another tool available to Pro and Enterprise members, Timing Arrays highlight potential timing of cyclical peaks and troughs the computer models are picking up on that may be worth further research. Socrates users can study the Timing Arrays to help prepare for possible market turning points, changes in trends, and volatility.

Cross-referencing the Timing Arrays and the Reversal System can be a powerful combination when researching stocks. Reversal points offer insight into possible pressure points in market price, while Arrays offer timing considerations — giving you an idea of where market movements might occur from a technical perspective, and when they may happen from a cyclical perspective, as you study market behavior and develop your own strategies.

Using Socrates Platform for Commodity Market Research

The Socrates Platform excels as a tool for researching commodities and commodity futures. Whether you are a passive investor, an active commodity trader, a financial professional or investment banker who trades commodities, you can use the proprietary computer models, indicators, cyclical and technical analysis features found in Socrates to research global financial market trends, patterns and cycles for commodities, as well as stocks, stock indices, ETFs, bonds and currencies (foreign exchange).

While there may be an initial learning curve for novice users to understanding the Socrates' computer models, the platform should prove to be relatively easy to use over time. As you become more familiar with our features and tools, you should find it increasingly easy to tap into the full potential of the platform, making it a valuable tool to research global financial markets.

For more insights on using Socrates to research commodities, learn how the platform was used to uncover opportunities in NY Gold futures. 

Is the Socrates Platform Right for You?

To learn more about our offering, explore our Membership Plans to find a version of Socrates that works for you.