A commodity is nothing but goods or assets that has importance in everyday life and can be exchanged for other commodities of the same type in commerce. Commodity is any sort of movable or exchangeable goods and assets except for money that can be bought and sold.
History of Commodity Trading in India
Commodity Trading has a long history tracing back more than 400 years. Osaka in Japan is known to have been trading commodity futures to trade rice. Commodity trading in India started with the formation of the Bombay Cotton Trade Association in India in 1875.
This has shaped the future of commodity trading in India with the country among growing markets in the world with around 20 exchanges trading over 40 commodities in early 2002. Nowadays commodity trading has become synonymous with derivatives seeing major volume since the turn of the century.
List of Commodity Exchanges in India
Commodity Exchanges | City | Year of Formation |
Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd | Mumbai | 2003 |
National Multi Commodity Exchange | Ahmedabad | 2002 |
National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) | Mumbai | 2003 |
Universal Commodity Exchange | Gurgaon | 2013 |
Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) | Gurgaon | 2009 |
Shariah Index | Mumbai | 2010 |
Commodity Market Trading Timings in India
Below timings were announced in Oct 2018. These timings shall be revised in Nov 2019:
Session | Start Time | End Time (after end of US daylight savings in fall season) |
Continuous Trading – Internationally referenceable Non-Agricultural Commodities | 9:00 AM | 11.55 pm |
Trade Modification Timings | 12:10 AM |
What Are The Different Types Of Commodities
Enlisted down below are the different types of commodities
- Agricultural
- Base Metals
- Bullion
- Energy
Let us discuss all of them in a little detail,
Agricultural Commodities
Agricultural commodities are those important sources of food that are required for either livestock or humans. For Instance, cardamom, cotton, crude palm oil, mentha oil, etc.
Base Metal Commodities
Base Metal commodities are those metals that are used in the manufacturing of other useful products like aluminum, aluminum minis, copper, copper minis, lead, lead minis, etc.
Bullion Commodities
Bullion Commodities include precious metals like gold and silver that are used for making jewelry. This type of commodity includes Gold, Gold Mini, Gold Guinea, Gold Petal, Gold Global, Silver Mini, Silver, Silver Micro, Silver 1000, etc.
Energy Commodities
Energy commodities include products that are used in the production of energy, like crude oil, crude oil mini, brent crude oil, and natural gas.
Best Commodity Brokers In India
Selecting the right commodity stockbroker is crucial for investment experience. And therefore we have listed down five best commodity brokers in India.
- ShareKhan
- Zerodha
- Angel Broking
- Trade Smart Online
- Upstox
- SAMCO
- SAS Online
- Kotak Securities
- Motilal Oswal
- R Money
Risks of Investing in Commodities
When you are trading in Commodity Futures, it takes very less amount of money to hold a very large amount of commodity with the help of margin, which can help an investor make money but he can also lose a big amount as well.
Volatility Risk
Commodity Trading in India can be one of the most volatile asset class. It is considered more volatile than bonds, equities, and even currencies. For example, In the recent ongoing Trade War, the daily volatility of oil was around 30% while in the same period the currency market only saw volatility of 10%.