Commodity markets refer to markets where raw or primary products are exchanged. Commodities have certain characteristics which make it feasible to trade them in markets. In the last few years, commodity prices have risen sharply primarily due to demand from emerging economies like India and China. This has generated significant interest in this marketplace. Commodities are, in fact, seen as a great way to diversify a portfolio. The main appeal of commodities is that they are a natural hedge against inflation.

Now that we have established the importance of including commodities in an investment portfolio, we will look at how you can access them. Of course, one way is to buy physical commodities, but this is impractical. Buying shares of miners, oil, or gas companies are other ways to gain exposure to commodities. Commodity ETFs is also an option, but we will focus on commodity futures.

Commodities futures are an agreement to buy or sell a commodity at a specified date in the future at a specified price. Commodities futures are traded on regulated exchanges. Commodities futures prices depend upon the price of the underlying commodities.

Trading in commodities futures is a very easy and convenient way to gain exposure to the commodities market. The commodities futures market can be classified into three main categories: Agricultural Products, Metals, and Energy. Where do you start if you are looking to trade commodities futures? Barchart can help you trade in the commodities futures market.

Barchart offers traders commodity charts and futures prices, which can be used to make informed decisions and spot emerging trends. Barchart’s commodities trading signals summary serves as a complete guide of the day’s opinions. The commodities trading signals summary page is linked to a detailed page for each indicator’s buy, sell, or hold rating. On the summary page, the first category is the overall opinion, which includes commodity contracts that are at a 100% buy or a 100% sell configuration.

Barchart also offers the end-of-day futures prices by Exchange. Traders can use this page to view end-of-day prices by exchange. On the first page, traders can select the futures exchanges carried on the Web site. Once an exchange is selected, the detailed page shows traders end-of-day futures prices with the contract name and month, last price, change, open, high, low, volume, and open interest. End-of-day prices for futures are updated at approximately 7 P.M. CST for the day’s session. To learn more about commodity charts and learn how to become a member, visit www.barchart.com today.

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