Commodity

What Is A Commodity?

Author: Himanshu Singh
Himanshu Singh
Himanshu Singh
Investment Banking | Private Equity

Prior to joining UBS as an Investment Banker, Himanshu worked as an Investment Associate for Exin Capital Partners Limited, participating in all aspects of the investment process, including identifying new investment opportunities, detailed due diligence, financial modeling & LBO valuation and presenting investment recommendations internally.

Himanshu holds an MBA in Finance from the Indian Institute of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology.

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Reviewed By: Patrick Curtis
Patrick Curtis
Patrick Curtis
Private Equity | Investment Banking

Prior to becoming our CEO & Founder at Wall Street Oasis, Patrick spent three years as a Private Equity Associate for Tailwind Capital in New York and two years as an Investment Banking Analyst at Rothschild.

Patrick has an MBA in Entrepreneurial Management from The Wharton School and a BA in Economics from Williams College.

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Last Updated:July 22, 2022

A commodity is any good that is identical (or very similar) from any producer, i.e. producers have to compete on price. They are usually used in production of other goods or services.

The most common types of commodity traded on financial markets are:

  • Oil
  • Wheat
  • Copper
  • Iron

Commodities are very susceptible to speculation and therefore are frequently volatile. The quantity of a commodity traded is standardized by the Chicago Board of Trade through contract amounts (i.e. one wheat contract is 5,000 bushels).

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