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Futures Spread Techniques: Butterfly Futures Spread

April 14, 2012 by John Payne| Tips & Strategies

Savvy traders, who understand the term structures of futures markets, often use the butterfly futures spread to isolate certain contracts in which they feel demand or supply will be the strongest or weakest. Some people are only aware of the options version of this trade (read the past article). While the futures version of the butterfly spread contains four legs similar to the options version, the execution and the “why” behind getting involved will be a little different.

STRATEGIES USING COMBINATIONS OF POSITIONS, SUCH AS SPREAD AND STRADDLE POSITIONS MAY BE AS RISKY AS TAKING A SIMPLE LONG OR SHORT POSITION.

How the Butterfly Futures Spread works:

The Butterfly Futures Spread will combine a near term bull spread and a longer term bear spread (or vice versa if bearish). We will buy two different months, and then sell one month twice. The month we will sell twice is referred as the “whipping post” because we believe it will underperform the other two months that we buy individually. This spread is popular because it offers cheaper margins rather than outright directional trades. In my opinion, many perceive this strategy as less risky because you are long and short the same commodity, just in different months.

In a market like corn, the term structure will offer many opportunities to gain profit from the changes in prices in different months. Because of the fundamentals of the grain markets and the fact that new supply will be on the market only a few times a year, the term structure can change drastically depending on supply/demand and fund movement. In the case of our example below, we will sell the September contract twice, making it our whipping post. Note: you always want to make your sale in what you perceive to be the weakest month. How to determine which month will be the weakest will take some homework. Let’s look at a real example:

Hypothesis: Due to the fantastic weather farmers in the Corn Belt have had to plant corn, it is believed that they will be planting sooner and with fewer delays. It’s no secret that the trade is pricing in a mega crop for the December contract being grown this summer. However, the weather should shift much of the supply currently priced in the December contract up to the September contract. This price shift should happen during the early planting process from now until mid-July. Currently, the September contract is $.20 per bushel, more than the December. Every year, since 1996, this spread has been at a carry (Dec over Sep), and I believe this trend will continue.

There is a fundamental caveat we need to be aware of — the US Corn carryout (stocks on hand). Because the carryout is so tight, any weather hiccup or demand shock could send the summer old crop corn contract (July) relatively higher compared to the more deferred contracts, much like we saw last summer. Because of this, we would like to have protection during the early part of the season to protect against new crop losses or a war which would tighten supplies further. This kind of situation calls for getting long corn this summer. To do this, we will buy the July contract and sell the September contract again. If there would be a supply shortage, the July should run up against September.

The Plan: If you trade on a platform, like the DT Pro or Vantage, you can enter the spread orders on the screen. If you have a platform that will not support spread trading, you will need to “leg in” to the spread by doing each contract individually. We prefer to do all orders in the spread market if possible so if you have a PLUS or PREMIUM broker set up, without one of the aforementioned platforms, you can get these done via the spread market either on the floor or the screen.

STRATEGIES USING COMBINATIONS OF POSITIONS, SUCH AS SPREAD AND STRADDLE POSITIONS MAY BE AS RISKY AS TAKING A SIMPLE LONG OR SHORT POSITION.


Here are the prices as we look to enter the trade, with our purchases in green and our sales in red:

July Corn: 626-0
September Corn: 559-0
December Corn: 544-0

The way we will track the spreads will be to follow the July-Sep leg and the Sep-Dec leg separately. Even though I look at this butterfly spread as one big trade, I will still use stops and targets on each leg to make the execution smoother and easier to follow. Below, you can see the risk/reward plan for the trade. If the trade goes to plan, I expect the July to get back over a 1.00 inverse to the September and the December to get to a 15 cent carry (right now it’s is inverted) over the September for a profit of 28 cents on the July-Sep leg and a 30 cent profit on the Dec-Sep leg, making the total profit for the trade 58 cents, or $2900 dollars.

STOP ORDERS DO NOT NECESSARILY LIMIT YOUR LOSS TO THE STOP PRICE BECAUSE STOP ORDERS, IF THE PRICE IS HIT, BECOME MARKET ORDERS AND, DEPENDING ON MARKET CONDITIONS, THE ACTUAL FILL PRICE CAN BE DIFFERENT FROM THE STOP PRICE. IF A MARKET REACHED ITS DAILY PRICE FLUCTUATION LIMIT, A "LIMIT MOVE", IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE TO EXECUTE A STOP LOSS ORDER.


PAST RESULTS ARE NOT NECESSARILY INDICATIVE OF FUTURE RESULTS.

This is a long term trade, and the plan could change along the way. However, with these spreads in place, I am confident that we will have the time to recognize those changes and adjust. The biggest fundamental factors that will affect the trade will be the planting progress reports that are released Monday afternoons and the export sales reports released on Thursday mornings. Those reports combined with the monthly WASDE reports should give us enough fresh information along the way to keep the Dec prices supported and the July prices running higher.

For more questions about this type of trade, contact us at 800.800.3840.

Filed Under: Tips & Strategies

About John Payne

John Payne is a Senior Futures & Options Broker and Market Strategist with Daniels Trading. He is the publisher of the grain focused newsletter called This Week in Grain, along with being a co-editor of Andy Daniels’s newsletter, Grain Analyst. He has been working as a series 3 registered broker since 2008.

John graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in economics. After school, John embarked on a 4 year career with the United States Navy. It was during two tours in Iraq and the Persian Gulf where John realized how important commodities are to the survival of society as we know it. It was this understanding that brought about John’s curiosity in commodities. Upon his honorable discharge in 2007, John’s intense interest in the world of commodities inspired him to move to Chicago and pursue his passion in a career in the futures arena.

After a three year position with a managed futures firm specialized in livestock trading, he was given the opportunity to join the team at Daniels Trading. Being in the business and seeing how other IB’s operated, it was the integrity and straightforward approach of the Daniels management team and brokers that attracted him to make the move. Since joining Daniels, John has broadened his fundamental and technical analysis of the markets even further. John has been writing his newsletter This Week in Grain under the Daniels banner since 2011.

Working in high pressure industries like the military and capital markets, John has learned the value of preparation in times of stress. He believes that instilling within his clients the value of a good plan and a cool head for dealing with the day to day swings of commodity markets. He treats every client as a teammate, understanding that his job is to help clients achieve their goals, whatever they may be.

John is a proud supporter of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the National Corn Growers Association. When he is not working, he enjoys athletics of all kinds and spending time with his wife and their two kids.

John’s commentary is featured in the following publications:

* All Ag Radio – Sirius Channel 80
* AM 880 KRVN – Lexington, Nebraska
* RFD TV
* Wall Street Journal
* Barron’s
* China News Daily (English version)

Risk Disclosure

STOP ORDERS DO NOT NECESSARILY LIMIT YOUR LOSS TO THE STOP PRICE BECAUSE STOP ORDERS, IF THE PRICE IS HIT, BECOME MARKET ORDERS AND, DEPENDING ON MARKET CONDITIONS, THE ACTUAL FILL PRICE CAN BE DIFFERENT FROM THE STOP PRICE. IF A MARKET REACHED ITS DAILY PRICE FLUCTUATION LIMIT, A "LIMIT MOVE", IT MAY BE IMPOSSIBLE TO EXECUTE A STOP LOSS ORDER.

STRATEGIES USING COMBINATIONS OF POSITIONS, SUCH AS SPREAD AND STRADDLE POSITIONS MAY BE AS RISKY AS TAKING A SIMPLE LONG OR SHORT POSITION.

The StoneX Group Inc. group of companies provides financial services worldwide through its subsidiaries, including physical commodities, securities, exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives, risk management, global payments and foreign exchange products in accordance with applicable law in the jurisdictions where services are provided. References to over-the-counter (“OTC”) products or swaps are made on behalf of StoneX Markets LLC (“SXM”), a member of the National Futures Association (“NFA”) and provisionally registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) as a swap dealer. SXM’s products are designed only for individuals or firms who qualify under CFTC rules as an ‘Eligible Contract Participant’ (“ECP”) and who have been accepted as customers of SXM. StoneX Financial Inc. (“SFI”) is a member of FINRA/NFA/SIPC and registered with the MSRB. SFI does business as Daniels Trading/Top Third/Futures Online. SFI is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as a Broker-Dealer and with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant and Commodity Trading Adviser. References to securities trading are made on behalf of the BD Division of SFI and are intended only for an audience of institutional clients as defined by FINRA Rule 4512(c). References to exchange-traded futures and options are made on behalf of the FCM Division of SFI.

Trading swaps and over-the-counter derivatives, exchange-traded derivatives and options and securities involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. The information herein is not a recommendation to trade nor investment research or an offer to buy or sell any derivative or security. It does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and does not create a binding obligation on any of the StoneX group of companies to enter into any transaction with you. You are advised to perform an independent investigation of any transaction to determine whether any transaction is suitable for you. No part of this material may be copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form by any means or redistributed without the prior written consent of StoneX Group Inc.

© 2023 StoneX Group Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Risk Disclosure

The StoneX Group Inc. group of companies provides financial services worldwide through its subsidiaries, including physical commodities, securities, exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivatives, risk management, global payments and foreign exchange products in accordance with applicable law in the jurisdictions where services are provided. References to over-the-counter (“OTC”) products or swaps are made on behalf of StoneX Markets LLC (“SXM”), a member of the National Futures Association (“NFA”) and provisionally registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) as a swap dealer. SXM’s products are designed only for individuals or firms who qualify under CFTC rules as an ‘Eligible Contract Participant’ (“ECP”) and who have been accepted as customers of SXM. StoneX Financial Inc. (“SFI”) is a member of FINRA/NFA/SIPC and registered with the MSRB. SFI does business as Daniels Trading/Top Third/Futures Online. SFI is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) as a Broker-Dealer and with the CFTC as a Futures Commission Merchant and Commodity Trading Adviser. References to securities trading are made on behalf of the BD Division of SFI and are intended only for an audience of institutional clients as defined by FINRA Rule 4512(c). References to exchange-traded futures and options are made on behalf of the FCM Division of SFI.

Trading swaps and over-the-counter derivatives, exchange-traded derivatives and options and securities involves substantial risk and is not suitable for all investors. The information herein is not a recommendation to trade nor investment research or an offer to buy or sell any derivative or security. It does not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and does not create a binding obligation on any of the StoneX group of companies to enter into any transaction with you. You are advised to perform an independent investigation of any transaction to determine whether any transaction is suitable for you. No part of this material may be copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form by any means or redistributed without the prior written consent of StoneX Group Inc.

© 2023 StoneX Group Inc. All Rights Reserved

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