Tools - Thursday, May 28, 2009 13:06 - 0 Comments

Oil Trading Index

Oil trading index measures the performance of oil stocks over a period of time. They are highly important to predict variations in the oil economy. Large volume surges in oil stocks are a possible indication of major highs and lows in the international oil market.

Amex Oil Trading Index
The Amex Oil Index, ticker symbol ‘XOI,’ represents the corporate entities engaged in the exploration, extraction and refining of crude oil to petroleum. This index was established in 1984 with a base level of 125.

The Amex Oil Index lists 13 large-cap oil and gas companies on the basis of the price value of their component stocks. The index monitors changes in the price of component stocks to measure the relative performance of the oil industry. The stock volumes of all these companies are traded each day. These volumes are added to chart the XOI composite volume construct for a particular day. The index represents data through candlestick charts in terms of 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 or 60 months.

This oil trading index also contains oil options that allow investors to trade on the AMEX Oil Index values. It is the most popular oil trading index and speculators hold the values of the Amex Oil Index in high regard while making predictions.

Other Oil Trading Indices
Apart from Amex, Dow Jones has several oil indices such as Dow Jones Oil & Gas Index, Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment & Services Index and Dow Jones U.S. Select Oil Exploration & Production Index. The Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN measures potential profit on un-leveraged investments in oil futures.

Through stock performance representation, an oil trading index offers a tool to analyze the financial soundness of the oil economy. Find out more about oil trading.