Free online futures and options trading courses provided by the CME

There are hundreds of websites of varying credibility offering to provide you training courses and material. These course can cost thousands of dollars and in most cases provide little more information then can be obtained from well written book. For the futures or options trader in training the first stop in the quest for knowledge should be the education section of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. You can download a free 132 page Introduction to Futures and Options Manual. The following are free online courses you can undertake:CME Futures  a Introductory Guide

Topics 

• The mechanics of futures trading
• Who trades futures and why : hedgers and speculators
• Forecasting prices
• Electronic trading and the trading environment

For the Foreign currency or Forex trader there are two courses offered by the CME. The first being the:Dynamics of Foreign Exchange

Topics 

• History and concepts of FX
• Trading CME FX futures and options
• Currency pricing – spot, futures and cross-rates
• How to use CME E-quivalents®
• Hedging with FX
• Concepts of fundamental and technical analysis in FX markets
• Basic FX trading strategies

After Completing this course you can then move on to:Advanced Strategies for Foreign Exchange Traders

Topics  

• FX market concepts
• Trading strategies using futures and options
• Spreading strategies
• Futures trading strategies with cross-rates
• Advanced hedging strategies
• 20 futures strategies examined

All of the CME courses are very well structured and offer interactive exercises, email contact with instructors, online quizees and ability to earn a certificate of achievement. It should be noted that each one of these courses has a time limit of 90 days to complete.

About the author

Mark - Is a 28 year old form Australia. He has a Bachelor in Economics and a Major in CS. He is currently working towards his CFP. His interests include algorithmic trading systems, artificial intelligence, game theory and poker.