Did you know that oil prices soared by over 400% in the 1970s due to the Arab Oil Embargo? These soaring prices affected the global economy, leading to a period of high inflation and economic turmoil in many countries. Some people were able to capitalize on the boom, with other traders unable to do so due to being late to make their trades. This is just one of the examples of commodity trading that shows how it can create opportunities and challenges for traders. Every trader and investor should understand commodity trading to take advantage of such opportunities and avoid potential challenges.
What are Commodities, and What is Commodity Trading?
Commodities are goods, natural resources, and raw materials that play a crucial role in global and national economies. Traders can sell them on different markets and they are usually divided into soft and hard commodities.
Soft commodities are agricultural products like grains, tropical plants like cocoa and coffee, or grains like soybeans and corn. Hard commodities are typically extracted or mined from the ground and are arguably more popular and attractive to investors than soft commodities. They include energy products like natural gas and oil and metals like gold, silver, copper, platinum, and iron core.
Commodities trading is the buying and selling of these commodities in over-the-counter or regulated markets. Traders who engage in commodity trading aim to profit from changes in the prices of different commodities.
These prices are influenced by various factors including economic conditions, weather patterns, geopolitical events, demand and supply changes, and the economic resolutions of specific countries or groups of countries.
Types of Commodities Trading Instruments
Traders can conduct commodity trading using various instruments. One of these is options trading. These contracts entail an agreement between the buyer and seller to deliver the sold or purchased commodities immediately. A typical example is a trader sending physical gold to a customer to keep in their custody.
Another popular options trading instrument is future contracts. A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of a given commodity at a specified price in the future. It is often easier to think of options like bets on where the price of a commodity will end up by the agreed date.
Options give traders the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a commodity at a specific price by a given date. In contrast, futures contracts obligate traders to honor their agreement to buy or sell the commodity at the specified price and date. The key difference is that futures involve an obligation, while options provide traders with flexibility.
Traders can also invest in exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. These include different commodities and track their performance, prices, and indices to determine their buying or selling price. Their main advantage is that they allow for easy diversification because investors and traders can invest in numerous commodities, industries, and regions using a single fund. By doing this, they do not have to source individual commodities to include in their portfolios.
Commodities Trading Strategies
Commodities trading often looks different for everyone because everyone has different risk tolerances. They also usually prefer different commodities and have different trading styles. However, it is still rooted in some fundamentals every trader should know about.
Fundamental analysis remains one of the most important commodity trading strategies because it allows traders to maximize returns while minimizing risk. A common way of doing fundamental analysis is evaluating supply and demand. Noting factors like product levels, consumption patterns, and inventory levels can give you an insight into potential province movements you can take advantage of.
Traders also follow the news as part of their trading strategies. If you live in Australia, Europe, or the Middle East and know something like a company announcement will affect the market in North America, you can make trades before the markets open to leverage the immediate price movements when it happens. Traders also use this strategy for other commodities, and will typically follow the gold market open time or currency market open time to leverage news in this way.
Traders can also follow trends and capitalize on long-term price trends, trade commodities trading below their historical averages (mean reversion), or use various hedging strategies to protect their portfolios against price fluctuations while taking advantage of these changes.
Risk Management Strategies
Risk management is crucial in commodities trading because it comes with some risks. With the right strategies, however, traders can avoid significant losses.
Some of the most common commodity trading risk management strategies include:
- Stop-loss orders – Stopping trades at predetermined levels to avoid losses
- Position sizing – Appropriate position sizes depending on the trader’s risk tolerance and account size
- Hedging
- Proper money management
- Continuous education to learn about market developments, new strategies, and how to analyze economic indicators.
There is no shortage of commodities one can buy and sell on the global market. Doing so successfully requires an understanding of commodity trading fundamentals and risk management strategies. As you become a better trader and investor, you can continue learning more about this type of investing so you can learn how to maximize returns and minimize losses.