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Q. What Are Commodities?

From Kimberly Amadeo,
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A. Commodities are agreements to buy and sell virtually anything except, for some reason, onions. The primary commodities that are traded are oil, gold and agricultural products. Since no one really wants to transport all those heavy materials, what is actually traded are commodities futures contracts or options. These are agreements to buy or sell at an agreed upon price on a specific date.

The commodities markets are in Chicago (Chicago Board of Trade) and New York (New York Board of Trade, and the New York Mercantile Exchange).

Commodities FAQ

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