Commodity
A raw material or primary agricultural product that is interchangeable with others of the same grade and traded on organized exchanges.
A commodity is a physical good that is fungible — one unit is interchangeable with any other unit of the same grade. This standardization is what allows commodities to trade on centralized exchanges with transparent pricing.
Commodities are broadly grouped into four sectors: energy (crude oil, natural gas, gasoline), precious metals (gold, silver, platinum), base metals (copper, aluminum, zinc), and agricultural (corn, wheat, soybeans, softs like coffee and sugar).
Prices are driven by supply-demand fundamentals, geopolitical factors, currency moves, and seasonal patterns — making commodities a distinct asset class with low long-run correlation to equities.