• Bond valuation
• Corporate bond
• Fixed income
• Government bond
• High-yield debt
• Municipal bond
• 
  Securitization

• Common stock
• Preferred stock
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• Stock
• 
  Stock certificate
• Stock exchange

For many years, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil, a light, sweet crude oil, was the world's most-traded commodity. WTI is a grade used as a benchmark in oil pricing. It is the underlying commodity of Chicago Mercantile Exchange's oil futures contracts. WTI is often referenced in news reports on oil prices, alongside Brent Crude. WTI is lighter and sweeter than Brent and considerably lighter and sweeter than Dubai or Oman.^[49]

From April through October 2012, Brent futures contracts exceeded those for WTI, the longest streak since at least 1995.^[50]

Crude oil can be light or heavy. Oil was the first form of energy to be widely traded. Some commodity market speculation is directly related to the stability of certain states, e.g., Iraq, Bahrain, Iran, Venezuela and many others. Most commodities markets are not so tied to the politics of volatile regions.

Oil and gasoline are traded in units of 1,000 barrels (42,000 US gallons). WTI crude oil is traded through NYMEX under trading symbol CL and through Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) under trading symbol WBS. Brent crude oil is traded in through Intercontinental Exchange under trading symbol BRN and on the CME under trading symbol BZ. Gulf Coast Gasoline is traded through NYMEX with the trading symbol of LR. Gasoline (reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending or RBOB) is traded through NYMEX via trading symbol RB. Propane is traded through NYMEX, a subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange since early 2013, via trading symbol PN.

Natural gas is traded through NYMEX in units of 10,000 million BTU with the trading symbol of NG. Heating oil is traded through NYMEX under trading symbol HO.

Others

Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) is traded through ZCE in units of 5 tons with the trading symbol of TA. Ethanol is traded at CBOT in units of 29,000 U.S. gal under trading symbols AC (Open Auction) and ZE (Electronic).

Metals

Precious metals

Precious metals currently traded on the commodity market include gold, platinum, palladium and silver which are sold by the troy ounce. One of the main exchanges for these precious metals is COMEX.

According to the World Gold Council, investments in gold are the primary driver of industry growth. Gold prices are highly volatile, driven by large flows of speculative money.^[51]

Industrial metals

Industrial metals are sold by the metric ton through the London Metal Exchange and New York Mercantile Exchange. The London Metal Exchange trades include copper, aluminium, lead, tin, aluminium alloy, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum. In 2007, steelEnergy commodities include crude oil particularly West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil and Brent crude oil, natural gas, heating oil, ethanol and purified terephthalic acid. Hedging is a common practice for these commodities.

Crude oil and natural gas

Precious metals currently traded on the commodity market include gold, platinum, palladium and silver which are sold by the troy ounce. One of the main exchanges for these precious metals is COMEX.

According to the World Gold Council, investments in gold are the primary driver of industry growth. Gold prices are highly volatile, driven by large flows of speculative money.^[51]

Industrial metals

[60]

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is the cornerstone of the European Commission's Financial Services Action Plan that regulate operations of the EU financial service markets. It was reviewed in 2012 by the European Parliament (EP) and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN).^[61] The European Parliament adopted a revised version of Mifid II on 26 October 2012 which include "provisions for position limits on commodity derivatives", aimed at "preventing market abuse" and supporting "orderly pricing and settlement conditions".^[62]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), based in Paris and formed in 2011, is an "EU-wide financial markets watchdog". Esma sets position limits on commodity derivatives as described in Mifid II.The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), based in Paris and formed in 2011, is an "EU-wide financial markets watchdog". Esma sets position limits on commodity derivatives as described in Mifid II.^[62]

The EP voted in favor of stronger regulation of commodity derivative markets in September 2012 to "end abusive speculation in commodity markets" that were "driving global food prices increases and price volatility". In July 2012, "food prices globally soared by 10 percent" (World Bank 2012). Senior British MEP Arlene McCarthy called for "putting a brake on excessive food speculation and speculating giants profiting from hunger" ending immoral practices that "only serve the interests of profiteers".^[63] In March 2012, EP Member Markus Ferber suggested amendments to the European Commission's proposals, intended to strengthen restrictions on high-frequency trading and commodity price manipulation.^[64]