Module 8: Currency, commodity and government securities

Shares are only one market. Currencies, commodities and government securities trade in India too, each with its own contracts, drivers and hours. This module is a map of those markets.

01Currency pairs

Currency futures and options trade on pairs such as USD-INR. The rupee moves with trade flows, interest rates, capital flows and RBI policy.

02What moves a currency

Inflation, interest rate differences, the current account and foreign investment flows. Big events, like a central bank decision, can move a pair sharply in minutes.

03Commodity markets

Gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, base metals and agricultural goods trade on exchanges such as MCX and NCDEX, mostly as futures.

04Bullion

Gold and silver respond to the dollar, global interest rates and demand for safety. In India the rupee price adds the currency's move on top.

05Energy and metals

Crude oil and natural gas follow global supply, inventories and geopolitics. Base metals follow industrial demand, especially from large manufacturing economies.

06Government securities

G-secs are bonds issued by the government to borrow. Their prices move opposite to interest rates, and they are the reference for every other bond in the country.

07Treasury bills and the yield curve

T-bills are short-term government debt. Plotting yields across maturities gives the yield curve, which shows what the market expects from rates and growth.

08Where this leads

A1Stock focuses on the index and the cash market; this module gives the wider picture that moves them.