Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What symbols are available on Inside Futures?

Answer: Futures and options symbols are available from the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME, IMM, IOM, and GBLX), Inter Continental Exchange (ICE), Kansas City Board of Trade (KCBT), Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WPG), Commodities Exchange (COMEX), New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX, NYMI), and New York Board of Trade (CSCE, NYCE, NYFE, FINEX). For a complete listing, see the Symbol List.

Question: Are quotes and charts real-time or delayed?

Answer: All Equities and Futures data is delayed according to exchange rules. NYSE and AMEX at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq at least 15 minutes. CME, CBOT, ICE and NYBOT at least 10 minutes. NYMEX and COMEX at least 30 minutes. If you are in need of real-time data, try a 14-day, free no-risk trial of streaming real-time quotes and charts using one of Barchart's real-time data services.

Question: What time zone are prices and times quoted in?

Answer: The time zone shown is that of the exchange giving the quote.

Question: How can I display options?

Answer: First, display a quoteboard containing the underlying symbol. Next, click the Options link, "O", in the far right column of the quoteboard.

Question: What are the delivery month codes?

Answer: See the Delivery Months table for a listing of month codes. For example, WK07 = May 2007 Wheat, and SQ06 = August 2006 Soybeans.

Question: What is the "Technical Opinion" available on futures symbols?

Answer: Technical Opinion provides access to charts with Short, Medium and Long Term studies. Analysis of these charts can provide Buy and Sell signals. In order to properly form an accurate opinion, the equity or commodity has to have at least six months of trading activity.

To display Technical Opinion, first display a quoteboard containing the symbol. Next, click on the Technical Opinion link, "T", in the far right column of the quoteboard. For example, view the Technical Analysis for July 2007 Corn.

Question: What charting features are available on Inside Futures?

Answer: Sign up for a free site membership and receive all advanced Chart features, including:

• Open / High / Low / Close displayed as you pass your mouse over the chart (show me)
• One-click to change chart settings and indicators
• 5 Min, 15 Min, 30 Min, 45 Min, 60 Min, 90 Min, Daily, Weekly and Monthly time series
• Small, medium or large sized charts
• Comparison to S&P, Nasdaq and Dow , or to any other valid symbol of your choice
• Bar, Line, Area, Candle, and Hollow Candles (for black and white chart printing)
• Volume ON or OFF
• Grids ON or OFF
• Linear or Logarithmic scaling
• 42 different indicators available, with customizable parameter settings
• Add an umlimited number of indicators to a chart
• Additional custom charts available from a symbol's "Technical Opinion" page:
  • Trend Spotter chart
  • Short Term Indicator charts, including 7 Day Average Directional Indicator, 10 - 8 Day Moving Average Hilo Channel, 20 Day Moving Average vs Price, 20 - 50 Day MACD Oscillator, and 20 Day Bollinger Bands
  • Medium Term Indicator charts, including 40 Day Commodity Channel Index, 50 Day Moving Average vs Price, 20 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator, and 50 Day Parabolic Time/Price
  • Long Term Indicator charts, including 60 Day Commodity Channel Index, 100 Day Moving Average vs Price, and 50 - 100 Day MACD Oscillator
    

Question: How can I display a historical chart, one for an expired contract, such as November 2004 Soybeans?

Answer: To do this, you'll need to use our enhanced charts (available with your free membership). If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can register here.

1. Log in to your account and go to the Charts/Quotes tab.
2. Important: Historical charts are not available on an intraday chart, so you will first have to change the default chart setting to Day, Week, or Month using the "Period" setting underneath the chart.
3. Once the chart period has been changed, simply enter the contract you wish to display in this format:

   (Root symbol)(Month)(2-digit year).

   For example:
   SX04 for November 2004 Soybeans
   

Question: How can I put a combination of moving average indicators on a chart, such as 4, 9, and 18 day moving averages?

Answer: To do this, you'll need to use our enhanced charts (available with your free membership). If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can register here.

1. Log in to your account and create a chart with the symbol of your choosing.
2. Scroll under the chart (to the chart settings) and add the moving average indicator three times.
3. Click the + sign to the left of the first moving average. This opens a dialog box, displaying a brief description of the indicator and its parameter(s).
4. Change the parameter setting to a 4, and click “Update Parameters”. Repeat for the third indicator, changing the (as shown here):