MCX paper trading: practise commodities with virtual money

What is MCX paper trading?

MCX is the Multi Commodity Exchange of India. Traders buy and sell futures and options on commodities such as Crude Oil, Gold and Silver there. MCX paper trading means you trade these contracts with virtual money. You see market prices and real contract details, but no order reaches the exchange.

Commodities move for different reasons than stocks. Crude Oil reacts to world supply news. Gold often moves when the rupee or global rates move. Practice shows you how fast these contracts can move against a position before you risk real money.

What can you trade on MCX in ZeroStake?

You can trade MCX commodity futures and options with virtual money: Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Gold, Silver, Copper and more.

Option chains: Crude Oil, Gold, Silver, Natural Gas, Copper and Zinc.

You start with ₹5 lakh of virtual money. You can reset it to the starting amount.

How do you place an MCX trade?

1. Search for the commodity, for example Crude Oil, and pick the contract.
2. Open its chart, or open the order panel.
3. Choose the product type: Intraday closes the position the same day, Till Expiry can stay open until the contract expires.
4. Check the lot size and the margin the trade needs.
5. Buy or sell. On Trade on Chart, drag your stop-loss and target to your levels.
6. Watch the P&L of the position move with the market.

Some order tools, such as limit orders, trailing stop-loss and GTT, need ZeroStake Pro, an optional plan in the app.

How do you read an MCX option chain?

An MCX option chain works like an index option chain. Calls are on one side, puts on the other, and each row is a strike price.

• OI and change in OI show where traders hold positions and where they add or cut them.
• IV shows how much movement the market prices in.
• The Greeks show how an option reacts to the price, time and volatility.
• The OI summary shows total call and put OI, the PCR and a sentiment label.
• Max pain shows the strike where option buyers as a group lose the most at expiry.

One tap recentres the chain on the at-the-money strike. Some columns, such as change in OI and PCR, need ZeroStake Pro. Learn each column in the Option Chain guide.

What do MCX charges look like?

Every trade in ZeroStake shows its estimated charges. For commodities, these include CTT (the commodities transaction tax), exchange charges, the SEBI fee, stamp duty, GST and brokerage. Agricultural commodities are exempt from CTT, and the app follows that rule.

Charges add up fast when you trade often. Look at the charges line on each closed trade, then decide if your edge is bigger than your costs.

How is MCX practice different from real trading?

• Fills: by default, an order fills in full at once at the last price. With LiveFill on, an order can fill in parts and at a worse price. LiveFill is part of ZeroStake Pro.
• Hours: MCX trades on its own session times. The Market Timings screen in the app has a tab for MCX.
• Feelings: a loss feels smaller when the money is virtual. Keep a plan for each trade and follow it.
• Replay: Historical Replay covers index sessions only, not MCX.

How the simulator works explains each difference in detail.

How should you practise commodities?

Start with one commodity and learn its rhythm. Trade one lot at a time. Set a stop-loss before you enter. After each closed trade, write in the Trade Journal why you took it and what you will do next time. After two weeks, read your P&L Statement and look at your win rate and your average loss.