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 trading in China protect hog breeders from being exposed to sharp price swings. As a major producer and consumer of commodities, China has large potential for developing its futures market. China's commodity futures markets have expanded product ranges and deepened liquidity pools to cater to the increasingly diverse needs of the nation's rapidly growing economy. With increasing volatility in global commodity markets and prices, companies have been expanding their agricultural product, precious/base metal, fuel oil and other commodity-related investments in China. There are three commodity exchanges in China after the merger of 50 exchanges into 14 in 1995 and subsequently into three in