Types of Commodities
Since there are so many commodities, they are grouped into three major categories: agriculture, energy, and metals.
Commodities are hard assets you can touch.They are grouped into agricultural, energy, and metals.Their prices are traded every day in the commodities market.As a result, the prices of gasoline and many food products change frequently.
Agriculture
Agricultural commodities include:
Things you drink, such as sugar, cocoa, coffee, and orange juice. These are called the “softs markets.“Grains, such as wheat, soybeans, soybean oil, rice, oats, and corn.Animals that become food, such as live cattle and pork (called “lean hogs”).Things you wouldn’t eat, such as cotton and lumber.
Energy
The energy category includes crude oil, RBOB gasoline, natural gas, and heating oil. Commodities trading is a big determinant in setting oil prices.
Metals
Metals include mined commodities, such as gold, copper, silver, and platinum. The London Metal Exchange announced it would launch futures contracts for metals used in batteries. The exchange expects there will be a large market for such metals as the demand grows for electric vehicles.
How the Commodities Trading Market Works
Commodities trading determines the prices of all commodities. As a result, the prices of the most important items you use every day are volatile. In some cases, like gasoline, they change from day to day. Commodities trading especially impacts lower-income people around the world, who pay more of their limited income on food and transportation. It also makes farming riskier. It’s one reason why the U.S. government provides farm subsidies. A significant amount of trading occurs in oil, gold, and agricultural products. Since no one wants to transport those heavy materials, they trade futures contracts instead. These are agreements to buy or sell at an agreed-on price on a specific date. Commodities contracts are priced in U.S. dollars. So, when the dollar’s value rises, it takes fewer dollars to buy the same amount of commodities. That makes commodity prices fall. Financials are also traded in the futures markets. These include currencies such as the three-month Eurodollar and the euro FX. It also includes interest rates, such as the 10-year Treasury note. There are also futures on stock indices such as the S&P 500. But the Commodity Exchange Act doesn’t define these as commodities.
Commodities Markets and Oversight
The U.S. commodities markets are in Chicago, New York, and Atlanta. The CME Group owns all but one. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange focuses on agricultural commodities, while the Chicago Board of Trade specializes in grains. The New York Mercantile Exchange focuses on energy and metals. The Commodity Exchange is located in New York, although the Chicago-based CME Group owns it. The Atlanta-based Intercontinental Exchange now owns the New York Board of Trade. It trades mostly in the softs markets. In 1975, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission began regulating commodities. The Commission replaced the Commodity Exchange Authority and the Commodity Exchange Commission. In 1936, the Commodities Exchange Act had established those bodies to administer the Act and to set federal speculative position limits.
Commodities as a Business Term
In business, commodities can be defined as any good or service that is bought and sold purely on price. These include the traded commodities. They can also include products that are not differentiated from others based on brand, benefits, or other distinguishing features. For example, Coca-Cola is a branded product that receives loyalty, and a higher price, because of its perceived differentiation from other cola drinks. A low-cost store brand is more of a commodity, because it isn’t much different from other store brands. It’s bought primarily because of its low price, not its taste.
