Beginner
What commodities are and why they matter
Start with the raw materials behind food, energy and manufacturing, then learn how to move through this course.
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Commodities Explained
Understand the materials behind the markets. Follow six learning stages from commodity basics to investment analysis and portfolio risk.
Start with What commodities are and why they matter, then follow the next lesson links. Explore 24 lessons with practical examples, exercises and further reading.
Explore the learning path
Browse by commodity
Commodity Foundations
Understand the products, prices and participants behind commodity markets.
Beginner
Commodity families and the role of benchmarks
Organise the commodity universe without assuming that everything within one family has the same economics.
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Beginner
How to read a commodity price quote
Read the full definition behind a quote: currency, unit, grade, location, delivery date and observation time.
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Beginner
Spot markets, futures and the people who use them
Understand immediate transactions, future obligations and the different reasons participants enter a market.
Read articleSupply and Price Drivers
Connect physical balances, production costs, currencies and seasonal changes.
Beginner
Supply, demand and the inventory buffer
Build a simple balance sheet and distinguish production flows from the stock of material already available.
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Beginner
Commodity cycles and the cost of new supply
Learn why supply responses take time and why production costs are useful context rather than a guaranteed price floor.
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Beginner
The dollar, interest rates and commodity prices
Trace currency and financing effects without relying on a fixed rule that commodities always move opposite to the dollar.
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Beginner
Weather, seasons and commodity supply shocks
Distinguish a seasonal pattern, a temporary delay and a lasting loss of supply before interpreting the headline.
Read articleCommodity Markets Explained
Explore the different forces behind metals, energy, grains and soft commodities.
Intermediate
Gold, silver and platinum have different demand drivers
Separate the monetary, industrial and investment forces behind three precious metals before comparing their prices.
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Intermediate
Copper and industrial metals through the production chain
Follow copper from ore to usable metal and see why mining, refining, inventories and recycling can tell different stories.
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Intermediate
Oil and natural gas are connected but different markets
Understand why crude oil, refined fuels and natural gas can respond differently to the same energy headline.
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Intermediate
Grains and soft commodities from harvest to customer
Use harvest calendars, quality standards and end uses to understand grains, oilseeds and soft commodities.
Read articleWays to Invest
Compare physical ownership, listed products, producer shares and futures.
Intermediate
Owning physical commodities: storage and total cost
Calculate the costs and practical responsibilities of owning a physical commodity before comparing it with a financial product.
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Intermediate
Commodity ETFs, ETCs and ETNs: read the structure
Look inside a listed commodity product to understand its holdings, legal structure, tracking method and costs.
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Intermediate
Why producer shares do not track commodity prices exactly
Trace a commodity price change through production, costs, debt and valuation to understand the risks of producer shares.
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Intermediate
Futures, margin and leverage explained with an example
Use contract size and price changes to calculate futures exposure, then see why margin is not a limit on potential loss.
Read articleCommodity Analysis
Read reports and curves, build scenarios and understand hedging.
Advanced
How to read commodity reports without mixing the numbers
Learn to distinguish stocks from flows, observations from forecasts and a new release from a genuine change in the balance.
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Advanced
Futures curves, contango and backwardation
Read prices across delivery months and understand why a futures strategy can behave differently from a spot price.
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Advanced
Build a commodity thesis with competing scenarios
Turn a broad commodity story into a clear question, competing scenarios and evidence that could change your view.
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Advanced
Hedging and basis risk in a practical example
Work through a producer hedge and learn why differences between local cash prices and futures can change the result.
Read articleRisk & Portfolio Strategy
Bring sizing, diversification and ongoing review into a complete research process.
Advanced
Position size, liquidity and leverage belong together
Connect the size of a position with cash losses, trading conditions and the ability to exit when conditions change.
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Advanced
Commodity correlations and the limits of diversification
Evaluate whether an exposure adds a different risk to a portfolio, rather than assuming that another commodity name guarantees diversification.
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Advanced
A repeatable commodity risk review
Create a review process that separates new evidence, changing assumptions and investment performance.
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Advanced
Your commodity research project: from question to decision
Bring the learning path together in a research project that ends with an evidence based decision, including the option to wait.
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