Commodity Exchange Commodity Exchange – also called Futures Market, or
Futures Exchange, organized market where futures contracts
are traded. A futures contract represents a binding agreement to
buy a commodity at a specified price on a specified future date.
Thus it is possible for a trader to obtain a guarantee for the
price he will have to pay for a commodity in the future. The
method of obtaining a price is usually in open outcry in the
commodity exchange. There are two basic types of traders in a
futures market: hedgers and speculators. Both are necessary to
the market in order to generate a sufficient volume of two-way
business. Hedging – the process whereby a dealer or investor
will seek to gain some protection against the possible loss of
their investment owing to some sudden movement in the
market. Hedgers seek to avoid or minimize the financial risks
associated with their current commercial activity by taking out
an insurance policy in the shape of a futures contract against
adverse price or interest-rate movements. On the other hand,
the speculator, in the expectation of makinga profit, seeks risk
by committing his funds to back his own view of higher or
lower prices or interest rates. Speculation – a risk on the
purchase of an asset (an item of property or value) that it will
rise at some time in the near future and can be sold for a profit,
or the sale of an asset on the assumption that its price will drop
and it can be purchased at a lower price, hence make a profit.