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Thursday, January 17, 2008

How About Commodity Investing

By John Spencer

Perhaps you have heard of commodities trading. Commodities are products of commerce traded in commodity markets. These types of materials include foreign currencies, financial investments, agricultural products, petroleum and metals. When they began, commodity markets were used to trade in agricultural products in local markets. Today, however, commodity markets expand globally, because country barriers have been broken down through technological advancement. In addition, goods have been industrialized, and globalization has meant that the world itself has become a trading center.

When you trade commodities, you must follow certain rules. First, trading is done only for products that are standard. Second, commodity transactions are done through something called "futures contracts." With futures contracts, commodities are actually bought or sold on a future date, not the present date. However, the commodity's selling price is agreed upon immediately when the contract is made. Therefore, even though the commodity is sold at a future date, the price itself is already fixed when the contract is made.

"Futures contracts" aren't the only type of commodities contracts. Spot contracts are put in place so that commodities get transferred when a contract is made instead of at a later date. You use a spot contract to exercise future contract after a period of time has gone by. Some types of commodities investing include commodity food market, commodity fund investing, and commodity petroleum.

When commodities investing started, trading was done in just a few sectors. In addition, commodities were restricted to those used in regular, everyday life. Presently, anyone who wants to engage in commodities trading can.

One of the benefits to commodities investment is reduced risk. This may help you balance out losses you might have in other areas of your portfolio. Commodities offer reduced risk because when you deal in commodities, you are investing in a variety of items. In addition, future dates contracts mean that you can take care to make sure that your chances of risk are reduced or even eliminated.

It is easy to monitor the performance of commodities on the commodity market. This is because the commodity market usually performs well when other stocks and shares don't perform well; and vice versa. With this rule, it is easy to predict the prices of commodities and thus consider the ups and downs of the market. However always remember to never correlate the commodity market with the stock and bond market.

If you want more advice on trading commodities, you can ask commodity-trading advisors. These firms or individuals can help you determine whether you should establish a long or short position in the commodity market. They can also tell you when you should liquidate your position. They can also advise you as to how your goals fit with their particular strategies and philosophies in trading.

To choose the best commodity-trading advisor for you, determine what your own goals and objectives are and then choose an adviser that matches you most closely. You can communicate with your advisor in a variety of ways, including phone, pager, fax, or e-mails. If you're not comfortable with trading in commodities yourself, there are several investment funds that utilize commodities trading in their portfolios.

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