Research Analyst

SKN HCG Group is seeking a highly analytical and detail-oriented Research Analyst Commodity Trading / Research & Strategy to support its commodity trading operations and strategic decision-making.

The role involves conducting in-depth research on domestic and international commodity markets, analyzing price movements, monitoring supply-demand fundamentals, evaluating macroeconomic trends, and identifying potential trading opportunities. The successful candidate will provide actionable market intelligence, develop analytical models, and support traders in making informed trading, hedging, and risk management decisions.

The ideal candidate should have a strong understanding of commodity markets, particularly crude oil and natural gas, along with expertise in quantitative analysis, market forecasting, and data-driven research.

Key Responsibilities

Commodity Market Research & Analysis

• Conduct comprehensive research on global and domestic commodity markets, including crude oil, natural gas, power, metals, and agricultural commodities.
• Analyse commodity price trends, market fundamentals, supply-demand dynamics, inventory levels, production, consumption, imports, exports, and trade flows.
• Monitor geopolitical developments, OPEC+ decisions, government policies, regulatory changes, weather patterns, and logistical disruptions affecting commodity prices.
• Track key macroeconomic indicators, including inflation, interest rates, currency movements, economic growth, and global trade developments.
• Monitor relevant commodity exchanges, benchmark prices, industry publications, and market intelligence sources.

Trading Desk Support & Strategy

• Provide timely market updates, research insights, and actionable trading ideas to the commodity trading desk.
• Prepare daily market briefs, weekly research reports, commodity outlooks, and price movement analyses.
• Identify potential arbitrage opportunities, seasonal trading patterns, market spreads, and pricing inefficiencies.
• Support the development and evaluation of trading strategies, hedging approaches, and commodity price risk management frameworks.
• Analyse forward curves, futures contracts, basis differentials, and price spreads to support trading decisions.
• Collaborate with traders and business teams to translate market research into commercially relevant insights.

Quantitative Analysis, Forecasting & Modelling

• Collect, validate, clean, and analyze commodity market data from exchanges, government agencies, industry bodies, and commercial data providers.
• Develop and maintain price forecasting models, quantitative analytical tools, and scenario-based market outlooks.
• Analyze historical price series, volatility, correlations, seasonality, and market spreads.
• Build dashboards and automated reports to monitor commodity prices, market fundamentals, and key trading indicators.
• Maintain structured databases of historical prices, market fundamentals, and research outputs.

Market Intelligence & Strategic Research

• Assess domestic and international developments in the oil, gas, and energy sectors.
• Track natural gas pricing benchmarks, LNG markets, pipeline gas dynamics, gas procurement trends, and relevant regulatory developments.
• Evaluate supply-demand scenarios and their potential implications for gas aggregation, procurement, and commodity trading.
• Prepare research presentations, management reports, market outlooks, and strategic recommendations for senior management.
• Identify emerging market trends, commercial opportunities, and potential risks relevant to the group's business operations.

Required Qualifications & Experience

• B.E./B.Tech. in Engineering or MBA from a recognised institution.
• 3-5 years of relevant experience in commodity research, energy markets, commodity trading, market intelligence, investment research, or quantitative analysis.
• Strong understanding of commodity futures, derivatives, pricing mechanisms, and financial markets.
• Exposure to crude oil, natural gas, LNG, power, or other energy commodities will be preferred.
• Experience in analysing market fundamentals, economic indicators, commodity price movements, and supply-demand trends.
• Prior experience supporting a trading desk, energy company, commodity trading firm, brokerage, or research organisation will be an advantage.

Key Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills

• Advanced Microsoft Excel, including data analysis, financial modelling, and forecasting.
• Proficiency in Power BI, Python, SQL, or other statistical and analytical tools.
• Knowledge of commodity exchanges, futures markets, derivatives, and hedging instruments.
• Ability to interpret commodity price charts, forward curves, spreads, and historical market data.
• Experience with market data platforms and commodity research databases will be an advantage.

Analytical & Professional Skills

• Strong quantitative, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.
• Understanding of macroeconomics, global trade flows, energy markets, and geopolitical developments.
• Excellent report writing, presentation, and research documentation skills.
• Ability to convert complex market information into concise, actionable trading insights.
• Strong attention to detail, commercial awareness, and intellectual curiosity.
• Ability to work under time-sensitive market conditions and manage multiple research priorities.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Performance will be assessed against relevant business and research objectives, including:

• Accuracy, timeliness, and quality of commodity market research.
• Effectiveness and commercial relevance of trading insights and market forecasts.
• Quality of daily market reports, weekly outlooks, and management presentations.
• Reliability and accuracy of analytical models, databases, and dashboards.
• Identification of potential arbitrage opportunities, market trends, and risk indicators.
• Responsiveness to trading desk requirements and contribution to informed decision-making.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a commercially oriented research professional with a strong analytical mindset, a genuine interest in global commodity markets, and the ability to connect macroeconomic developments with commodity price movements.

Candidates with hands-on exposure to crude oil, natural gas, LNG, energy trading, commodity derivatives, and quantitative market analysis will be particularly well suited to this role.

The candidate should be comfortable working closely with traders and senior management in a fast-paced environment where timely, accurate, and actionable research is critical.