¶ Introduction
A commodity is a fundamental good traded in commerce, interchangeable with others of the same kind. It typically serves as an input for producing other goods or services, and the term most often refers to raw materials used in manufacturing finished products. A product, in contrast, is the final good offered to consumers. Although the quality of a commodity can vary slightly between producers, it remains largely uniform. When traded on an exchange, commodities must meet defined minimum quality standards, known as grades or specifications.
Due to their sheer number, commodities are divided into four main categories:
- Agricultural - These are "soft" commodities that are grown or farmed, such as wheat, corn, soybeans, coffee, and sugar.
- Energy - These commodities are natural resources used to power homes, vehicles, and businesses, including crude oil, natural gas, and gasoline.
- Industrial metals - Industrial (base) metals are widely used in construction and manufacturing; examples include copper, aluminum, and zinc.
- Precious metals - Precious metals are rare, valuable elements often used as safe-haven investments, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
List of the top commodities:
- Crude Oil – Energy
- Brent Crude Oil – Energy
- Natural Gas – Energy
- Gold – Precious Metals
- Silver – Precious Metals
- Copper – Industrial Metals
- Corn – Agricultural
- Soybeans – Agricultural
- Coffee – Agricultural
- Cotton – Agricultural
- Sugar – Agricultural
¶ Navigation
¶ Specific setup
¶ Step 1: Set up Commodities
- Navigate to: Treasury > Common > Commodities
- Click on the New button
- A New commodity dialogue will open
- Enter a Commodity ID
- Type a Description
- Add a Symbol
- Select a Commodity type. Choose between
- Agricultural
- Energy
- Industrial metals
- Precious metals
- Other
- Select a Currency
- If applicable, choose an Item
- Select a Unit
- Select a Main exchange
- Click the OK button
¶ Daily use
¶ Step 2: Editing Commodities
- Go to: Treasury > Common > Commodities
- The following FastTabs make up the Commodities page:
- General
- Vendors and buyers
- Harmonized coding system (HS)
- Daily prices
¶
Step 2.1: General FastTab
- Expand the General FastTab
The following fields can be edited:
- Description
- Symbol
- Commodity type
- Latest price
- Currency
- Item can be changed or added
- Unit
- Main exchange
- Notes
¶
Step 2.2: Suppliers (Vendors) and Buyers
- Expand the Suppliers and Buyers FastTab
- Click on the Suppliers tab (Vendors)
- Click on the Add button to add a buyer
- Select a vendor account from the dropdown list
- Click on the Buyers tab
- Click on the Add button to add a buyer
- Select a Customer account from the menu
To remove an incorrect line from Vendors and buyers FastTab, click on Remove
¶ Step 2.3: Harmonised coding
Harmonized System (HS) code is a globally standardized six-digit numerical system used by over 200 countries to uniformly classify traded products for customs and statistical purposes.
- Expand the Harmonised coding system (HS) FastTab
- The following fields will display:
- NMFC code - A trucking standard used to categorize freight into "classes" based on transportability (density, handling, and risk) to determine shipping rates.
- STCC code - A seven-digit numeric code used specifically by the rail industry to identify commodities and manage tariffs for train transport.
- Harmonized Tariff Schedule - The official list of codes to classify imported goods and determine the specific duty rates and taxes owed.
¶
Step 2.4 Daily prices
- Expand Daily prices FastTab
- Click on the Add button to add new daily prices
- Select a Fund
- Enter a date
- Enter Price AM
- Enter Price PM
- The following costs are calculated automatically and will be displayed:
- Accounting price AM
- Reporting price AM
- Accounting Price PM
- Click on the Remove button to delete a line
