What You'll Learn
- •Available Commodities: Metals (gold, silver, copper), energy (crude oil, natural gas), and agricultural "softs" (cocoa, cotton, sugar, coffee).
- •Why Prices Fluctuate: How seasons, weather, and harvest yields drive supply and demand volatility.
- •Hedgers vs. Speculators: The relationship between producers offsetting risk and traders taking on market exposure.
- •The History of Futures: How forward contracts evolved into standardised futures on exchanges to solve liquidity and settlement issues.