I don't recommend trading futures options or other leveraged paper contracts. These are not for the inexperienced. They are NOT physical metal & I fear one day the imaginary metal may go up in smoke. But I have an old friend who swears by investing in metals by examining ratios. Like how many pounds of aluminum buys a pound of copper. When the ratio is high, he buys the cheaper metal, when the ratio is low he buys the expensive metal. He's a lot smarter than I am. Wondering what people here think about futures.