Key Takeaways
- Margin, volatility, and liquidity are market attributes you should consider when selecting futures to trade.
- Factors such as weather, geopolitical & global events, and seasonal demand, can affect the price of commodities.
- Stay updated with the latest market trends and swings of each asset you are trading for a higher success rate.
Introduction
The endless opportunities in trading futures are also a key factor undermining several traders' successes. While futures trading is rewarding, the risk is huge. Hence, going through several expert insights and market data, I’ve curated a list of the best futures to trade in 2025, which I’ll share with you for risk management and profit maximization.
What is Futures trading?
Futures trading refers to financial agreements between two parties indicating their interest in buying or selling an asset at a predetermined price on a specified date.
The asset can be forex index, oil, metals, contracts, currencies, or stock indices. Hence, you can speculate on price movements or hedging against them to make profits.
List of the best Futures to trade in 2025
The list below identifies the top futures instruments to trade, spanning across several types of futures:
- S&P 500 Index Futures
- Bitcoin Futures
- Crude Oil Futures
- Gold Futures
- Eurodollar
- Nasdaq 100 Index Futures
- E-mini Russell 2000
- Soybean Futures
- Cocoa Futures
- Natural Gas Futures
Introducing the criteria for the best Futures to trade
Here are some criteria you should consider when picking the best futures to trade:
- Market Liquidity: Liquidity eases you to trade without affecting the instrument's price. To consider an instrument liquid, you need high market activities –trade volume and open interest. Thus, creating lots of trading opportunities with low slippage.
- Volatility: This helps you measure the amount of market movement to determine which futures have higher profit potentials. Whether a scalper or swing trader, you need good market movement to make profits. You can measure volatility with the average daily range or Bollinger bands indicators.
- Margin Requirements: Margin sums up the money you need as a deposit to open a trading position. It also determines the kind of contract you can trade and the position sizing permitted. Margin and equity work side-by-side. Remember, the lower the margin, the less money you need to risk. So, the margin is a huge deciding factor when selecting what futures to trade.
- Market Trends: Trend is every trader's friend. It can be bullish/bearish or ranging. Using historical data, earnings seasons, and economic cycles, you can predict market trends to take advantage of the movement. This is an ideal criterion for swing/long-term traders to determine what to trade.
- Trading Strategy: Your trading methods will determine which futures to add to your watchlist. You need to back-test several instruments to see where your strategy works best or use AI trading.
- Time Constraints: In line with your backtesting, you should figure out when to trade your selected market. We have grouped this list with every trader type in mind –day traders, night traders, scalpers, and swingers.
- Diversification: It's a no-brainer not to put all your eggs in one basket. Diversify your futures watchlists to include commodity, currency, interest rate, energy, and stock. However, only include instruments you have done your research on.
Product introduction
1. S&P 500 Index (ES) - Best Futures for Day Trading
S&P 500 futures expose you to the performance of 500 large-cap U.S. companies. This is one of the best futures to trade and is ideal if you are looking into the broader market trends of multiple companies.
Key features why you should invest in the S&P 500:
- Access to low margin and good liquidity with over $50.712 trillion market cap.
- One of the most traded mini-contract instruments.
- High volatility, low slippage, and a lot of daily trading opportunities. Provides E-mini contracts for smaller investments.
2. Bitcoin (BTC) - Best Futures to Trade at Night
Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in the world. Its futures have higher liquidity with leverage options of up to 100x when you trade on platforms like CME and Binance.
Due to the 24/7 market-open nature of Bitcoin investments, it's the perfect futures to trade at night.
Key features:
- Known for high volume and liquidity.
- It's the most traded cryptocurrency instrument.
- Can be traded across all trends with limited margins.
3. Crude Oil Futures (CL) - Best Futures for Large Price Movement
Globally, crude oil is one of the largest instruments in the energy market. Since oil is always in high demand across borders, there’s a year-round opportunity to trade Crude oil futures with guaranteed volatility.
Key features:
- High trading volume as it is one of the most actively traded commodities.
- Creates trading opportunities due to large price swings.
- Significantly volatile and Influenced by global decisions.
4. Gold Futures (GC) - Best Futures for High Trading Volume
If you love investing in conservative assets, then gold futures are for you. Gold has remained the haven for investors and traders alike.
Its value remains stable amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, pandemics, and economic turmoil. The estimated market cap of gold is approximately $19.7 trillion, making it a topper on your portfolio for the best futures to trade.
Key features:
- Used to protect and hedge against economic downturns (inflation and currency devaluation).
- One of the most actively traded futures contracts.
- Offers a stable margin with very high liquidity.
5. Eurodollar (GE) - Best Futures to Trade for Beginners
Eurodollar is arguably the best futures for beginners. It's super liquid with low margin requirements. Also, it's good for hedging and speculation since it's less volatile when compared to other futures.
Key features:
- Offers a direct play on interest rate expectations.
- Less volatile but has a high trading volume.
- Requires a low margin, making it perfect for beginners.
6. Nasdaq-100 Futures (NDX) - Best Futures for Low Day-Trading Margin
NASDAQ tracks the performance of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the stock exchange market like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA), and Microsoft (MSFT).
It's a no-brainer to trade due to tech firms' dynamic volatility. NDX is one of the best futures to trade if you are conversant with tech and biotech companies, and what moves them.
Key features:
- Access to track Nasdaq-100 index performance for tech-focused traders.
- Participate in stock trading without owning a single stock.
- Consistent volatility with huge market movements.
- Low margin requirement and good market trends.
7. E-mini Russell 2000 (RTY) - Best Futures for Small-cap Stocks
The E-mini Russell 2000 tracks the performance of 2000 small-cap stocks across the US. It monitors the growth, value indexes, and options of these stocks to create a cheaper exposure for futures traders.
Key features:
- High volume and guaranteed liquidity.
- Cost-effective exposure for small-cap stocks traders.
8. Soybean Futures (ZS) - Best Futures for Market Trends
Soybean is a great addition if you want to trade agricultural commodities. You are guaranteed constant volatility, making it a good investment opportunity for beginners.
Key features:
- High liquidity trading and volume.
- Easy to predict trend changes with seasonal agricultural trends.
- One of the most traded agricultural futures.
9. Cocoa Futures (CCK) - Best Futures for Diversification
Cocoa is an A+ addition for any futures trader. The market demand is always high and as such, it’s perfect to add to your list of the best futures to trade.
Key features:
- Predictable seasonal trends make fundamental analysis easier.
- High liquidity is due to constant demands for Cocoa products.
- Tradeable across all trading hours ensures you don't miss out on good trading signals.
10. Natural Gas (NG) - Best Futures for Volatility
Natural Gas is one of the most speculative markets in the world. It's perfect for long-term traders who can hold their positions to withstand volatile changes in the market.
Key features:
- Highly volatile with good trading opportunities.
- Fundamental events and supply & demand affect its price fluctuations.
- Offers high-risk, high-reward trading.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between futures trading and stock trading?
Futures trading involves buying or selling an asset at a predetermined price in the future, while stocks deal with ownership of a part of a company.
What is the best strategy for trading futures?
There's no holy grail strategy to guarantee futures trading success. The best approach is to control your controllables like position sizing, using stop losses, and a better risk-to-reward ratio. Also, knowing what type of trader -scalper/swinger, will help you determine your approach to the market.
Conclusion
Futures trading in 2025 can be profitable with the right mindset and knowledge. Regardless of your sector of interest, there is always an instrument for you to trade.
Hence, when collating a list of the best futures to trade in 2025, select those that align with your trading strategy, available capital, and trading goals. This helps you implement risk management strategies that work for you.
