Trade from Babson Currency Plus

C2
1

Hi Matt,



8/11/10 12:19 STO 1 QGCZ0 1208

8/11/10 14:30 BTC 1 1201.40



The above position was opened and closed from the system of Babson Currency Plus this afternoon. However, it was not shown under My Open Position at C2’s site. There was no execution from Performance Report neither. My C2 to OEC Auto-Trading setting is 100% with the system of Babson Currency Plus.



Did C2’s Auto-Trading missed signal or OEC did not fill the trade? Please check it out. Thanks.



Ning

2

Hi, Ning:



The issue is that the system vendor originally entered the position using the pit symbol for the GC contract, but OEC supports only electronic symbols for AutoTrading. The vendor later switched the position to the electronic symbol, but - because it had been opened via the pit symbol - it was not autotraded. This will not happen if vendor uses electronic symbols in the future.



Matthew

3

Thanks for such a clear explanation.

4

Matt

As you know you said…".The symbol GC is for open outcry (pit) gold. It trades between 8:20-14:30 New York time.

The symbol QGC is for globex/electronic trading. It trades between 19:00 and 18:15 ET (i.e. 24 hrs except for brief 45 minute shutdown at 6:15PM each night).

In general, use the electronic symbols".



So Matt the question is do I try to follow switching from one to the other or just use the electronic one???



Thanks

Ron

5

Ron,



Your autotraders won’t be able to trade your signals unless you only trade the electronic contract.

6

That makes it easy…so I should just ignore the time electronic is open and use it all of the time???

7

Obviously you can’t trade a instrument while its market is closed. I don’t understand what you are saying…

8

Francis

At IB and at other brokers I trade the same one all of the time. I think that it is comex electronic. C2 seems to have problems with non electronic markets. Matt says to use the electronic for the most part after mentioning the times open and closed.



When you trade gold without a problem do you stick to the time schedule or just trade the electronic whenever you want to make a trade?



Ron

9

Exchange hours are not negotiable, not even by IB, so you may be referring to a different exchange.



Best thing to do is try it, C2 will just hold the order if the market is closed.

10

Part of the confusion stems from the fact that for several instruments, C2 has two symbols. One symbol means: "the electronic version of this futures contract." Another symbol means: "the open outcry (that is, pit-traded) version of the product."



An example of this is NYMEX gold. At C2 the following:

QGC

means "electronic" big gold.



While the following:

GC

means "pit" big gold.



Only a few years ago, electronic contracts were considered exotic, and were only traded during late-night hours. Most volume was in the pits. Nowadays, almost all electronic contracts are traded 24 hours (with brief daily shutdown windows).



If you enter a "pit" symbol at C2, your trade can only be executed during the very limited daytime open outcry trading hours (the pit hours).



If you enter an "electronic" symbol at C2, your trade will be executed whenever the electronic market is open, which is almost always.



So, by and large, nowadays you should always be using the electronic symbols at C2. There is seldom a reason to use the pits. As an added bonus, by using electronics, you ensure your AutoTraders will be able to trade your system, because many brokers do not support pit contracts.



Matthew