Lingo topic · 30 terms
Commodities
Gold, oil, wheat and the raw stuff of the economy.
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- BackwardationWhen a futures contract for later delivery is cheaper than the price for immediate delivery, usually because people want the thing now.
- Baker Hughes Rig CountA weekly count of active oil and gas drilling rigs, mostly watched for the US, published by oilfield firm Baker Hughes.
- Baltic Dry IndexA daily index of what it costs to ship bulk raw materials like iron ore, coal and grain by sea.
- Brent Crude OilA grade of crude oil from the North Sea whose price is the main global benchmark for oil.
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- Carbon CreditsTradable permits that each allow the holder to emit a set amount of carbon dioxide, usually one tonne.
- CommoditiesRaw materials like oil, gold, wheat and copper, traded in global markets where supply shocks hit prices hard.
- Commodity CurrencyThe currency of a country that earns much of its income exporting raw materials, so it tends to move with commodity prices.
- Commodity Research Bureau IndexA long-running index that tracks the prices of a basket of commodities such as energy, metals and crops.
- ContangoWhen futures for later delivery cost more than the price for immediate delivery, the normal state when holding the asset has costs.
- CopperAn industrial metal used in wiring, building and electronics, often seen as a barometer of global economic health.
- Copper/Gold RatioThe price of copper divided by the price of gold, used as a rough gauge of growth optimism versus fear.
- CornOne of the world's most traded farm commodities, used for food, animal feed and biofuel.
- Crack SpreadThe price gap between crude oil and the fuels refined from it, a rough measure of refinery profit margins.
- Crush SpreadThe price gap between soybeans and the soybean oil and meal made from crushing them, a gauge of processors' margins.
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- OilThe world's most important commodity, and a major driver of inflation and of oil-exporting countries' currencies.
- OPECA cartel of major oil-exporting countries that coordinates production to influence the price of crude.
- OPEC+OPEC plus a group of other big oil producers led by Russia, who coordinate how much crude they pump.
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