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Live Prices and Charts, No Commissions, No Fees. Spread Trade on Shares, Indices, Forex, Commodities and more >>
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It depends upon what you mean by free. If you're looking for a free Demo Account where you can practice spread trading see below.
Tax Free. If you are looking for a free spread betting platform then don't forget that in the UK spread betting is tax free*
You can also spread bet on Short Sterling, Eurodollar, Euribor and other Interest Rates commission free and with no brokers fees at:
Free Demo Account
If you're looking for a free Practice Account / Test Account where you can trial spread betting, including Interest Rates markets like Short Sterling, Euroswiss, Eurodollar and Euribor etc then you can you can always try:
Each of the above currently offers a free demo account.
How to Spread Bet on Interest Rates?
You decide to look up the short sterling future for March. A spreads company quotes you 95.40 - 95.64. The quote implies that by the third Wednesday of the current quarter, interest rates will be between 4.36% and 4.60%.
This is calculated by taking 100 basis points and subtracting estimated interest rates at the time of expiry, ie 100 - 95.40 = 4.6, and 100 - 95.44 = 4.36
You think that interest rates will rise so you sell the Sterling Future at 95.40 for £5 per tick (for this market 1 tick = 0.01).
As it happens the interest rates fall and therefore the short sterling spread rises. The Spread quote moves to 95.76 - 95.84. You decide to cut your losses.
Therefore you close your bet. To close a bet you place the same bet in the opposite direction. ie you Buy £5 per tick at 95.84 and multiply by the stake.
Your profit / loss is calculated by calculating the difference between the closing level (95.84) and the opening price (95.40).
Loss = (95.40 - 95.84) / 0.01 x £5 per tick
= (-0.44 / 0.01) x £5 per tick = £220 loss
= -44 ticks x £5 per tick
= £220 loss
However let's say you were right and the market did fall and the trade was settled at 95.10.
Again your profit / loss is calculated by calculating the difference between the closing level (95.10) and the opening price (95.40).
Profit = (95.40 - 95.10) / 0.01 x £5 per tick
= (0.30 / 0.01) x £5 per tick
= 30 ticks x £5 per tick
= £150 profit
Where can I Find Free Live Prices on Interest Rates?
If you want to access quick live market information then you could do worse than opening an account with a firm like Financial Spreads.
Also, you don't have to trade with them, if you just open an account (which is free to do) then their data is free. The catch? You'll get the odd email or letter from them. In the example below you can also see that their free charts are also useful.
As mentioned above, you can get free charts with spread betting companies like Financial Spreads.
You can alter the charts to see market data by the minute, by the hour, by the week etc, plus many other settings to help you analyse the charts.
As you can see the charts show how the market's are not perfect and how you can expect the prices to "gap".
FinancialSpreads.com also have another pretty handy tool in their free Demo account (mentioned above). You can open a Demo account and place demo trades whilst you practice with no risk or cost attached.
Interest Rates Spread Betting Markets
Each spread betting company offer their own specific markets however a number of the companies will offer most, if not all, of the following:
Euribor
Eurodollar
Euroswiss
Short Sterling
Advert:FinancialSpreads.com >>
Live Prices and Charts, No Commissions, No Fees. Spread Trade on Shares, Indices, Forex, Commodities and more >>
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'Interest Rates Spread Betting' by DB, updated 04-Dec-07
For related pages also see:
Bonds Spread Betting, updated 05-Dec-07
Bonds trading information, where to find free Bonds charts and prices, how to spread bet on Bonds like Bobl, Bund, Gilt, Schatz and T Bond...read article. Interest Rates Spread Betting, updated 04-Dec-07
NEW: Interest Rates trading information, where to find free Interest Rates charts and prices, how to spread bet on Interest Rates like Euribor, Eurodollar, Euroswiss and Short Sterling...read article. Interest Rates Trading, updated 13-Feb-08
Adding the Northern Rock loans to the national debt makes for great headlines but it also shows how spineless the ONS actually is. At least the Northern Rock debt is backed up by a rather good mortgage book on the other side of the balance sheet. There is a whole host of much more...read article. Spread Trading Bonds and Interest Rates, updated 05-Dec-07
Your guide to bonds and interest rates spread trading, bonds spreads comparison tables, interest rate comparison tables and your questions answered, where to find free bonds and interest rates trading, free charts, live prices and more...read article. Spread Bet on Bonds and Interest Rates, updated 24-Apr-07
An introduction to trading on bonds and Interest rates. Currencies fluctuate for a number of reasons eg changes interest rates, speculative trading and central bank intervention. If you are looking for Treasuries spread betting...read article.
Q) Average Trading Results?
A) Get free spread betting tips, offers, price updates, important news and more! All Free? Click here!
Risk Warning: Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and you may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
* Tax law is subject to change or may differ if you pay tax in a jurisdiction other than the UK.
