MCX Instruments
This page lists the ten MCX commodities on AlgoTest and explains how commodity contracts differ from the NSE and BSE index contracts you may already trade.
Lot sizes and money per point​
Lot (qty) is the quantity AlgoTest uses for one lot. ₹ per point is how much one lot gains or loses when the price moves by one point.
| Symbol | Commodity | Exchange lot | Price quoted per | Lot (qty) on AlgoTest | ₹ per point, 1 lot | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRUDEOIL | Crude Oil | 100 barrels | 1 barrel | 100 | ₹100 | Yes |
| CRUDEOILM | Crude Oil Mini | 10 barrels | 1 barrel | 10 | ₹10 | Yes |
| GOLD | Gold | 1 kg | 10 g | 100 | ₹100 | Yes |
| GOLDM | Gold Mini | 100 g | 10 g | 10 | ₹10 | Yes |
| SILVER | Silver | 30 kg | 1 kg | 30 | ₹30 | Yes |
| SILVERM | Silver Mini | 5 kg | 1 kg | 5 | ₹5 | Yes |
| NATURALGAS | Natural Gas | 1,250 mmBtu | 1 mmBtu | 1,250 | ₹1,250 | Yes |
| NATGASMINI | Natural Gas Mini | 250 mmBtu | 1 mmBtu | 250 | ₹250 | Yes |
| GOLDPETAL | Gold Petal | 1 g | 1 g | 1 | ₹1 | No |
| GOLDTEN | Gold Ten | 10 g | 10 g | 1 | ₹1 | No |
Search for a commodity by its symbol in any instrument selector.
Calculating P&L​
P&L = (exit price − entry price) × lot size × lots, for a buy. For a sell, it's (entry price − exit price) × lot size × lots.
For example, if you buy 1 lot of CRUDEOILM futures at 5,500 and sell at 5,520, your P&L is (5,520 − 5,500) × 10 = ₹200.
Big and mini contracts​
Each big contract has a mini version that's a fraction of its size:
| Pair | Size ratio (big : mini) |
|---|---|
| CRUDEOIL : CRUDEOILM | 10 : 1 |
| GOLD : GOLDM | 10 : 1 |
| SILVER : SILVERM | 6 : 1 |
| NATURALGAS : NATGASMINI | 5 : 1 |
A strategy built on a mini contract needs far more capital, and swings far more, if you switch it to the big contract. Switching CRUDEOILM to CRUDEOIL multiplies your P&L per point by 10. Recheck your quantity and margin whenever you change the commodity.
How MCX contracts differ from index contracts​
The futures price is used as spot. MCX has no spot price. AlgoTest uses the current-month futures price in its place. ATM strike selection, strike offsets, and the underlying chart are all based on this futures price.
Expiries are monthly only. MCX contracts expire once a month, on dates the exchange sets for each commodity. There are no weekly expiries. In the leg builder, choose Monthly (current month) or Next Monthly.
Options expire a few days before futures. An MCX option is an option on the commodity's futures contract. It expires a few days before that futures contract. For example, a GOLDM option expiring on 29 Oct is based on the futures contract expiring on 5 Nov.
GOLDPETAL and GOLDTEN are futures only. They have no option chain. If you add an options leg on either, AlgoTest blocks it with the message "Selected leg contract is not available". This also applies to an imported strategy file.
Strike steps​
The strike step is the gap between two adjacent strikes.
| Symbol | Strike step |
|---|---|
| CRUDEOIL | 50 |
| CRUDEOILM | 50 |
| GOLDM | 500 |
| SILVERM | 1,000 |
Historical data​
MCX backtest data starts on 1 January 2026, for big and mini contracts. There's no MCX history before that date. If you pick a longer date range, the backtest starts on the first day with data.