FAP Turbo

Make Over 90% Winning Trades Now!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Commodity Market Index Yields Diversity

By Derek Powell

If we were to define the word commodity insofar as it relates to the market, we would define it to include crops that are grown and goods are produced from the ground, for example wheat and corn, aluminium and oil. These commodities are traded each day on speculation, and the tracking of this is called the commodity market index.

There is a fair amount of risk involved in commodity investing as natural occurrences can adversely affect a particular crop. The commodity market index levels the risk, by dispersing amongst various other commodity investments. Thus, if a crop such as coffee is damaged by bad weather, another such as gold could be performing very well and would balance out the loss.

Those who prefer not to invest in the futures market find the commodity market index particularly attractive. As commodities are traded on all the major exchanges, there is a piece of the pie available to all investors. You can choose to take an active approach and base your transactions on a strategy to outperform a benchmark index, or you can take a passive role. Buy and sell with the hopes of matching the future index performance.

One of the advantages of investing in commodities is that it allows you to obtain a diversified portfolio and gain protection against inflation. Hang on for a wild ride however as the market is fast-paced and fluctuates practically every minute. To help them tackle the commodity market index most investors use charts to track the market. Several online resources are available to you to get quotes for the various commodities.

Businesses which rely on certain commodities heavily, utilize the commodity market index as a strategy for risk reduction. By balancing price swings, such companies hedge their bets.

The commodity market index can also be used as a forecaster for investing in mutual funds. Some people prefer mutual funds because there is less risk and expense compared with direct investing.

With a commodity market index, the current and futures market prices are given. The index sets pricing based on a percentage that is determined by production, liquidity and performance. There are a number of indexes which differ by the types of commodities they trade. Among them are the Chicago Board of Trade, the Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, the Goldman-Sachs Commodity Index, the Dow Jones AIG Commodity Index, the New York Board of Trade and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The commodity market index is very diversified and tracks prices of such items as soy gold and hogs, but investors do not need to take possession of these items. Most simply invest to make a profit. There are a number of funds are available to meet your goals, including commodity funds, natural resource funds, funds that hold futures and combination funds which include actual and future holdings. - 23221

About the Author:

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home