commodity

Intermediate 💰 Finance / Accounting

Definition

Basic goods traded in bulk markets where one unit is virtually identical to another—think oil, wheat, gold, or coffee beans before they get a fancy name at Starbucks. These fungible raw materials are bought and sold on specialized exchanges where traders gamble on price fluctuations. It's where agricultural products and natural resources become abstract financial instruments.

Example Usage

She made a fortune trading commodities until she accidentally bought 10,000 barrels of crude oil and had nowhere to store them.

Source: Finance and trading terminology

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