Commodity markets are markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. These raw commodities are traded on regulated commodities exchanges, in which they are bought and sold in standardized Contracts.

This article focuses on the history and current debates regarding global commodity markets. It covers physical product (food, metals, electricity) markets but not the ways that services, including those of governments, nor investment, nor debt, can be seen as a commodity. Articles on reinsurance markets, stock markets, bond markets and currency markets cover those concerns separately and in more depth. One focus of this article is the relationship between simple commodity money and the more complex instruments offered in the commodity markets.

See List of traded commodities for some commodities and their trading units and places

More on [ Commodity markets ]

MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse

Nomura shifts Europe media ratings
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:16:31 -0000
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nomura shifted ratings in the European media sector, cutting BSkyB and Vivendi to neutral from buy, cutting Lagardere and Central European Media Enterprises to neutral from reduce, upping JCDecaux , Wolters Kluwer and TF1 to neutral from reduce and lifting United Business Media and Informa to buy from neutral. The broker said the late-cycle end of the media sector has lagged cyclicals since the market turn in mid-March and now offers better value, as it prefers professional publishers, agency and satellite/cable sub-sectors and recommends avoiding director and most of the free-to-air TV companies. Reed Elsevier is its top pick. (BSkyB is 39% held by News Corp., which also owns MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.)Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
MPs try to stop RBS financing Kraft deal: report
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:10:01 -0000
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Members of parliament in the U.K. will Wednesday call on the government to prevent Royal Bank of Scotland from helping to finance Kraft's roughly 10 billion pound ($16.3 billion) bid for Cadbury , the Financial Times reported. The MPs will claim, during a meeting with Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson, that it would be against the national interest for RBS to offer support to the U.S. company as it attempts to buy its U.K. rival, the newspaper reported. RBS is 70% owned by taxpayers and that stake will soon rise to around 84%. RBS is one of nine banks that Kraft says are ready to lend a total of 5.5 billion pounds to finance a deal. Barclays and HSBC , which have not received direct capital injections from the government, are also on the list.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
Euro-zone manufacturing index hits 21-month high
Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:06:05 -0000
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- The Markit flash euro-zone manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to a 21-month high of 51.6 in December, up from 51.2 in November, while the services purchasing managers index rose to a 25-month high of 53.7 in December from 53.0 in November. Economists were expecting a 51.5 reading for the manufacturing PMI. "The euro-zone economy is ending 2009 on a positive note, with business activity and new orders both growing at the fastest rates for over two years in December," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit. The flash data is based on 85% of responses.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Elliott Wave International NewsWire

Soybeans: Ready. Set. Go To Opportunity
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:32:22 -0500
Watch commodity market charts long enough and you're bound to see them: those chart patterns when prices first swing wide up and down, then less so, then the swings narrow even more…
Oil Below $70: How Low Will It Go?
Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:24:37 -0500
I'll cut right to the chase: On Monday, December 14, crude oil prices fell below the psychologically important $70/per barrel mark to close at a fresh, two-month low. It was the market's ninth consecutive down day and the longest losing streak since 2001. As for what caused crude's bearish beating -- the mainstream experts cited one main factor...
The Fed: At Last, Others See that the Emperor Wears No Clothes
Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:10:46 -0500
Even longer than U.S. Representative Ron Paul has campaigned against the Fed, Bob Prechter has steadily built the case that the Fed is powerless to change the forces in the economy. He thinks the biggest mistake is to view the Fed as a leader rather than a follower of the markets. Here's why.

FT.com - Commodities News and Market Data

Gold retreats on talk of bubble
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:17:18 -0000
The gold market has developed into a bubble and prices face "significant risks of a correction", according to respected academic Nouriel Roubini
Cocoa price highest for 32 years
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:52:30 -0000
The price has risen in anticipation of bad weather and a recovery in consumption after chocolate manufacturers ran down their stocks this year
Launch of new asset class for Asia
Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:02:21 -0000
Asia launch on the Singapore stock exchange provides a welcome boost for Barclays Capital's nascent iPath ETN after business setbacks in the US

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