Most traded commodities - Economics Help (2024)

FAQs

What are the most commonly traded commodities? ›

Common tradable commodities include crude oil, wheat, soybeans, gold, silver, livestock, coffee, sugar, cotton, corn, frozen orange juice, and natural gas. Derivative products of some commodities are also traded, such as soybean oil and soybean meal.

Three of the most commonly traded commodities include oil, gold, and base metals.

Energy Commodities: Crude Oil and Natural Gas

Among the most volatile commodities, energy sources like crude oil and natural gas stand out. Their prices can be highly sensitive to geopolitical events, changes in regulatory policies, technological advancements, and shifts in supply and demand.

What About Crude Oil? Crude oil is by far the biggest commodity market, and oil prices were the talk of the town for much of 2022.

Gold's price is more stable than most other commodities, and the global economy is its strongest price indicator. When major economies around the world experience trouble, the price of often gold rises as people transfer their wealth to the safe-haven commodity.

What commodity makes the most money? ›

California's top valued agricultural export commodity continues to be almonds, with more than $4.6 billion in foreign sales in 2021.

Popular commodities for investment

Of these, oil has the biggest market, but gold is the most popular commodity for holding long term because of its role as a risk hedge, according to Minter.

Crude oil is by far the biggest commodity market, and oil prices were the talk of the town for much of 2022. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, WTI crude oil prices rose to their highest level since 2013 by May 2022.

Commodities are often split into two broad categories: hard and soft commodities. Hard commodities include natural resources that must be mined or extracted, such as gold, rubber, and oil, while soft commodities are agricultural products or livestock, such as corn, wheat, coffee, sugar, soybeans, and pork.