Commodity market Commodity market A commodity market is a market that trades in primary economic sector rather than manufactured products. Soft commodities are agricultural products such as wheat, coffee, cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Investors access about 50 major commodity markets worldwide with purely financial transactions increasingly outnumbering physical trades in which goods are delivered. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Futures are secured by physical assets. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple
Commodity markets. The wide availability of commodities typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (such as brand name) other than price. The word "commodity" came into use in English in the 15th century, from the French "commodité", "amenity, convenience". Going further back, the French word derives from the Latin "commoditas", meaning "suitability, convenience, advantage". The Latin word "commodus" (from which English gets other words including "commodious" and "accommodate") meant variously "appropriate", "proper measure, time, or condition", and "advantage, benefit". In economics, the term "commodity" is used specifically for economic goods or services that have full or