What futures brokers can you reccomend so I can do more research?
A few reply’s here and the consensus is to use futures and I would agree, stay well clear of CFD,s, you could also look at ETF,s particularly those traded in the USA they seem to have gained popularity and there are some that are commodity specific, like Gold, Crude Oil, Natural Gas etc but IMO still the best vehicle is futures but you need to be well capitalised to trade a basket of markets, at least $50K.
For brokers, I use Macquarie here in Sydney but on a no advice basis, its execution only and have found them very good, cover a huge range of exchanges globally with good reporting, service and a 24 hour desk, not as cheap as IB but unless your an experienced high frequency trader I would steer well clear of IB, yes there rates are low but you are well and truly on your own particularly if there’s a problem even if its not your fault, dealing with IB and there desk is very frustrating and for the sake of a few dollars cheaper commission per contract it really isn’t worth the hassle unless your trading VERY frequently, im not and hold positions for months sometimes, also with futures you need to be aware of first notice days and if in a position you need to roll from one contract to another, in this regard and IMO the full service broker is a better broker to use, they will let you know if a position is about to enter the first notice day period and you can leave instruction to roll positions at the open/close or in the roll market without having to be online trying to do it yourself, your broker probably does it very regularly so will be far more experienced doing a favourable roll for you.
Other brokers here in Australia are Halifax or Bell Potter to name 2 and have also heard RJ Obrien are pretty competitive with rates and good service but there US/Canadian based.