Credit: Shutterstock photoUnbelievably Futures Trading dates back to 17 th Century Japan. The first ever case noted concerned rice. However, there is also evidence that rice futures were traded in China as far back as 6,000 years ago.
Future trading is a natural progression of things in response to the difficulties of maintaining a year round supply of products which are dependable on seasons like agricultural crops. In ancient Japan, rice used to be stored in warehouses for future consumption by the rice merchants. To raise funds, these merchants would then sell their "rice tickets" (receipts of the stored rice). Later, these rice tickets came to be regarded as a sort of all-purpose currency. As trading in rice tickets became more widespread, rules to standardize the trading of these rice tickets were introduced. In a way, these rules were akin to the current rules of the US Futures trading.
Futures trading began in the US only towards mid 1800s. The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was setup in 1848. The New York Coffee , Cotton and Produce exchanges were only established in the 1870s and 1880s. Up to today, there are already ten commodity exchanges established in the US, with the CBOT being the largest. The other established exchanges are The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, New York Mercantile Exchange, New York Commodity Exchange and New York Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange.
Globally, there are Futures trading exchanges in more than twenty countries with the major exchanges being located in:
- Australia
- Canada
- England
- France
- Singapore
- Japan
- New Zealand
The commodities which are traded on these exchanges range from agricultural products like Corn, Wheat, Red Beans to Rubber.
In the US, Futures trading is regulated by a Department of Agriculture's sub agency known as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. It has regulatory authority over commodity advisors, brokerage firms, futures exchanges and money managers.
This is chapter number 1 out of 13. Read the rest:
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 2: Commodities Trading
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 3: What is traded?
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 4: Using Commodity Trading as an Investment Vehicle
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 5: Advantages of commodity trading
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 6: Disadvantages of commodity trading
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 7: Risks of Commodities Trading
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 8: Risk Management
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 9: Steps To Undertake While Trading In Commodity
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 10: Commodity Trading - a losers Game?
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 11: Learning to Trade Commodities
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 12: Creating a Trading Plan
Read Commodity Trading - Chapter 13: Stress of Commodity Trading
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
