Tokyo Commodity Exchange Tokyo Commodity Exchange Tokyo Commodity Exchange, also known as TOCOM, is Japan’s largest and one of Asia’s most prominent commodity futures exchanges. TOCOM operates electronic markets for precious metals, oil, rubber and soft commodities. It offers futures and options contracts for precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and palladium); energy (crude oil, gasoline, kerosene and gas oil); natural rubber and agricultural products (soybeans, corn and azuki). TOCOM was established in 1984 with the merger of the Tokyo Textile Exchange, founded in 1951, the Tokyo Rubber Exchange and the Tokyo Gold Exchange. The exchange became a for-profit shareholder-owned company in 2008. It
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