{"id":213566,"date":"2021-02-10T21:16:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-10T21:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibkrcampus.eu\/campus\/trading-lessons\/mechanics-of-futures-2\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:07:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:07:19","slug":"mechanics-of-futures-2","status":"publish","type":"trading-lessons","link":"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.eu\/campus\/trading-lessons\/mechanics-of-futures-2\/","title":{"rendered":"TWS Futures Contract Demo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Already an Interactive Brokers Client?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Request Trading Permissions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those of you following along in TWS, this video aims show you how to add common contracts to the display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will explain contract codes and months to help you quickly build them. We\u2019ll demonstrate how to add one or a strip of futures contracts to your display. For spread traders and for those wanting to roll a contract from one expiration to the next, we\u2019ll show you how to create a spread between two contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In TWS, futures symbols are specific to the exchange-listed contract, month and year of the product you are looking at. Yet there are several ways to arrive at displaying the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you know the symbol of the contract you want to add to the display, type it into a row on your monitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case I\u2019ll use GC for gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • By entering GC, the contract selection box displays. Locate the exchange in which this contract trades Select \u2018Futures\u2019 and pick the relevant month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • If the month you want is not displayed, click the \u2018more\u2019 button to find the relevant contract.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • You will notice that there are a few nearby contracts listed along with the so-called \u2018continuous\u2019 contract.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The continuous contract refers to the contract where most investors are positioned and where open interest is concentrated.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • TWS will update as positions are rolled into the next expiry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    To quickly add a specific expiration for a contract into TWS, you will need the product code and the symbol used to denote the month along with the final digit of the year in which the contract expires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For example, if I specifically wanted to display the December 2021 contract, we know that GC is the TWS symbol for gold and knowing that Z represents December we\u2019d enter GCZ1<\/strong>, where 1 represents 2021. Should you want the December 2022 contract, you\u2019d enter GCZ2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s a list of the futures month codes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    January                F<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    February              G<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    March                   H<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    April                      J<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    May                      K<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    June                    M<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    July                      N<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    August                Q<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    September         U<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    October               V<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    November          X<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    December           Z<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To display multiple contract months<\/strong> at the same time, start with the TWS symbol, locate the exchange and select Futures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Select More and hold the control key down as you highlight the expirations you wish to add to your display. This is known as a futures strip<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      You can add all of your required futures contracts to a monitor page this way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      To learn more about each contract, or to find out its trading hours and so on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • click-right on the symbol and from the Financial Instrument Info row follow the arrow to view its Description.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • You will be able to see the exchange information, contract, expiration and last trading details as well as trading hours.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Click through the Calendar hyperlink to get a visual on trading hours across the week.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        To display Futures related data in your monitor:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • right-click on any column header and choose Manage Columns to display the Configuration menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • From the Available Columns to the right of the display, locate and expand the Futures grouping and make your selections.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Note that you should choose other column values from Financial Instrument Descriptions, Prices and High\/Low\/Volume\/History sections as usual.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          If you wish to add a spread between two contracts<\/strong>, you can use the convention of subtracting one contract from another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • For example, for gold contracts, to add the spread between the December 2021 and June 2022 expirations type GCZ1-GCM2 and hit enter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • You will see the bid\/ask prices and the chart display the recent history of the spread.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Alternatively, enter GC in the Monitor, locate futures and select Combinations (Smart) and from the Combo Selection Tool, build the correct strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            There is a lot of information in this video to help you locate futures contract details and symbols and how to add them to your Monitor page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            To conclude this futures module –<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            • Futures are extremely efficient and low-cost investment opportunities<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Provide hedging and speculation without ever owning the underlying<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Ongoing transformation to electronic markets continues to lower trading costs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

              <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Watch and learn how to put Futures contracts into practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213567,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"contributors-categories":[149],"traders-academy":[100,103,105],"class_list":["post-213566","trading-lessons","type-trading-lessons","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","contributors-categories-interactive-brokers","traders-academy-beginner-trading","traders-academy-level","traders-academy-trading-lesson"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nArchives | Traders' Academy | IBKR Campus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Watch and learn how to put Futures contracts into practice.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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