These commodities are closely watched in the financial markets, where fluctuations can influence global economic trends and trading strategies. Like other commodity instruments, corn is traded on exchanges in the form of futures, which involve both physical delivery and non-delivery. The main trading platform for corn futures is the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), where this instrument has the ZC ticker.
Gold: Most Valuable Commodity for Trading
On the other hand, the disadvantages of such trading are high risks, low leverage, high commissions, and taxes. There are rules governing the purity of metal alloys and quality of foodstuffs. A year-on-year comparison of commodity trading reveals several interesting trends in 2024. Global steel production in 2022 was 1,803 billion tonnes, and more than 530 million Futures Contracts of Steel Rebar were traded on the Shanghai Futures Exchange.
- Silver ETFs and derivative contracts such as futures and options are also gaining popularity.
- Platinum is a rare and valuable metal used primarily in jewelry, industrial applications, and catalytic converters for controlling vehicle emissions.
- These geopolitical and economic influences have positioned commodities at the intersection of global uncertainty, with traders leveraging bullish and bearish opportunities to navigate volatile markets.
Market Insight – The Impact of Rising Cocoa Value in the Global Commodities Market.
In contrast, mined supply faces constraints due to declining ore grades and stricter environmental regulations. As a result, recycling of gold from electronic waste is expected to become a more significant supply source in the future. Gold prices have surged since the Covid-19 pandemic due to increasing global uncertainty and as a hedge against high inflation, approaching USD 3,000 per troy ounce in early 2025.
As commodities are traded on many different exchanges around the world with varying ticker symbols and contract specifications, it’s tough to really calculate the trading volume. This is why the top 5 commodities – oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and copper – are often the first where clients deploy our market intelligence. Their liquidity makes them highly tradable, while their narrative sensitivity makes them ideal for AI-driven sentiment analysis. Beginners should first pay attention to highly liquid commodity assets, which are offered by almost all brokers, and the information about which is publicly available. Commodity futures contracts can bring more profit, but trading them requires skills and knowledge.
The role of commodities in global markets must be recognized, with their significance reaching across various sectors and industries. Gold is valued as a so-called ‘safe haven’ asset, and tends to shine in times of economic uncertainty – though this doesn’t mean that its price is invulnerable to selloffs. Crude oil is crucial for energy and transportation, with its price affecting the automotive and tech sectors alongside a host of other industries. Discover which are the highest-traded commodities by our clients, and decide whether any fit your CFD trading strategy. Oil is the most liquid commodity, and for this reason, fluctuations in its price can lead to both quick profits and losses. To ensure your oil trades are successful, you need to understand the characteristics of this asset and the principles of pricing.
WTI Crude
For institutional systematic, quantitative and discretionary traders and asset managers, the challenge is no longer access to commodity price charts or knowing the current price of commodities. By combining commodity data, sentiment indices, and scenario analysis, we give clients the ability to anticipate movements in the largest traded commodity and beyond – turning uncertainty into strategy. Of course, most desks already monitor the daily price of the most traded commodities. At Permutable, we track commodities news in real-time, clustering news stories into explainable drivers. If gold sentiment spikes on “safe haven demand” while copper sentiment falls on “slowing construction,” our system shows the divergence in real time. At Permutable, we work with institutional clients to track narrative-driven volatility across the top traded commodities.
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The information on this website is general in nature and doesn’t take into account your or your client’s personal objectives, financial circumstances, or needs. Please read our RDN and other legal documents and ensure you fully understand the risks before you make any trading decisions. Here is a list of the 11 most actively traded commodities in the world by volume.
The United States and China are the largest consumers of oil, though demand is increasing fastest in emerging economies like India. On the supply side, growth is constrained by geopolitical instability in key oil-producing regions, underinvestment in new exploration projects, and tightening environmental regulations. That said, oil output will get a boost this year from the unwinding of OPEC+ cuts and higher output from the Permian Basin in the U.S. Our analysts’ Brent crude price forecast for 2025 is lower than last at around USD 75 per barrel, largely due to the aforementioned rise in supply. Gold serves as both a financial asset and an industrial commodity, prized for its rarity, durability and conductivity. It is used in jewelry, electronics, and as a store of value in central bank reserves and investment portfolios.
Traders and analysts closely monitor crude oil prices as they can significantly impact economic sectors worldwide. As with wheat, soybeans are traded on commodity markets in the form of soybean futures contracts. However, it is the no-delivery soybean contracts that are most popular with investors and speculators.
- In investments, silver has gained popularity in the form of investment coins, which, due to their low cost, are often an alternative to gold coins.
- The most commonly traded futures are No. 11 and No. 16, representing futures contracts for the physical delivery of raw cane sugar.
- As commodities are traded on many different exchanges around the world with varying ticker symbols and contract specifications, it’s tough to really calculate the trading volume.
While our gold price forecast is for prices to pull back slightly in the coming quarters, they will remain at some of the highest levels ever recorded. Coal remains a dominant energy source, particularly in electricity generation and steelmaking, despite growing environmental concerns. China, India and Indonesia are the top producers, with China also being the largest consumer, accounting for over half of global coal demand.
The largest gold-producing countries are Australia, China and Russia, while China and India dominate global demand due to their massive jewelry markets. Central banks, particularly in emerging markets, have been increasing their gold reserves in recent years as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical instability. Investment demand tends to rise in times of economic uncertainty, with short-term gold price movements also highly sensitive to interest rates and fluctuations in exchange rates—especially in the U.S. Long-term demand prospects are solid, buttressed by central bank purchases and increased industrial usage.
For example, coffee, which is one of the most traded commodities in the world, cannot be simply picked from a plant and put into a cup. Coffee needs to go through a complicated process before the beans (whole or ground) are ready to be used in a cafe or sold in a store. Despite there being a seemingly endless list of financial assets available to trade, you may be wondering, out of all these choices, what are the most traded commodities in the world. In the metals category, both precious and base metals have had a notable year in terms of trading activity. Commodities are often categorised into energy, metals, and agriculture sectors, each impacted by unique demand and supply dynamics.
Looking ahead, our panelists’ platinum price forecast is for prices drifting up this year from last and continuing to trend up in subsequent years. Platinum’s role in green hydrogen production will likely be a driver, as will higher emerging-market jewelry demand. That said, automotive demand will tail off going forward as Analizes palladium substitution runs its course and the transition to electric vehicles continues. Labor strikes and power shortages in South Africa are the key risk to supply.