LibGuides: International Trading Programme: Commodity Trading Firms (2024)

FAQs

Who are the big 4 commodity traders? ›

The first introduces the four big commodity traders – Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus – which are the focus of this study. Collectively, these trading companies are often referred to as 'the ABCD companies' because of the coincidence of their initials.

Zerodha is the top commodity trading broker that charges you just Rs 20 maximum fee on MCX trading on the Kite platform. Angel One is the second top commodity broker because it also offers you daily, weekly, and monthly commodity research reports.

The four leading privately-owned energy traders — Vitol, Trafigura Group, Mercuria and Gunvor Group — have made combined net profits of more than $50 billion in the past two years, according to Bloomberg News calculations.

Commodity trading firms are all essentially in the business of transforming commodities in space (logistics), in time (storage), and in form (processing). Their basic function is to perform physical “arbitrages” which enhance value through these various transformations.

The most traded commodity is crude oil. Crude oil is used in many products, from petrochemicals to petroleum to lubricants to diesel.

The salaries of Commodities Traders in The US range from $73,918 to $762,812, and the average is $166,453.

At electronic trading houses like Jane Street and Two Sigma, sources say commodities trading salaries are typically in the range of $150k-$250k and are supplemented with bonuses that are between 15% and 30% of pnl.

Base Pay. $68K - $117K/yr. Additional Pay. $73K - $136K/yr.

Unlike stock trading or investing in mutual funds or ETFs, commodity trading offers tremendous leverage. In trading commodity futures, you typically only have to put up about 10% of the total contract value. This enables you to make much higher percentage gains with your trading capital.

1. Crude oil: Brent crude. Crude oil is one the world's most in-demand commodities as it can be refined into products including petrol, diesel and lubricants, along with many petrochemicals that are used to make plastics.

Who is the number 1 trader in the world? ›

George Soros

He is one of the most popular and famous traders worldwide. In England, Soros worked as a waiter or railway porter before he graduated from the London School of Economics. This finally led him to the banking world when he became a merchant banker at Singer and Friedlander.

Commodity traders often act as speculators and attempt to make profits on small movements in commodity prices, gaining exposure through futures contracts. These traders go long if they believe prices are moving higher and short the commodity when they expect prices to fall.

Demat and trading accounts are mandatory for trading in the commodity market. If you are considering opening a Demat and trading account, you need to submit your PAN card, Aadhar card, age proof, income proof, and bank account statement.

The commodity trading environment is similar to other asset classes, with three types of trading participants: (1) informed investors/hedgers, (2) speculators, and (3) arbitrageurs.

In the last three years, the profits of the five biggest traders in agricultural commodities tripled compared to the years before. Together, ADM, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO and Louis Dreyfuss Company (ABCCD) hold a monopoly position on the global market for staples like grain, corn, soy and sugar.

A commodity pool operator (CPO) manages pooled funds that invest in commodities futures and related securities. A CPO may work for a hedge fund or investment fund that takes positions in commodities. CPOs must register with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

China is a large consumer of a broad range of primary commodities. As a percent of global production, China's consumption during 2010 accounted for about 20 percent of non- renewable energy resources, 23 percent of major agricultural crops, and 40 percent of base metals.