¶ Introduction
A commodity is a basic good used in commerce that is interchangeable with other goods of the same type. Most often referring to raw materials or primary agricultural products, commodities serve as fundamental inputs in the production of other goods and services. In contrast, a finished product is a differentiated final good sold directly to consumers. While quality can vary slightly depending on the producer, a commodity's essential characteristics remain uniform. To trade on standard commercial exchanges, commodities must meet defined quality benchmarks, known as basis grades or market 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, as well as livestock.
- Energy - These "hard" commodities are natural resources used to power homes, vehicles, and businesses, including crude oil, natural gas, heating oil and gasoline.
- Industrial metals - Also known as base metals, these are heavily used in construction, technology, and manufacturing; primary examples include copper, aluminum, zinc, and nickel.
- Precious metals - Rare and high-value metals that serve both industrial functions and roles as financial assets or safe-haven investments, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.
List of the top commodities:
- Crude Oil (WTI/Brent) – Energy
- Natural Gas – Energy
- Gold – Precious Metals
- Silver – Precious Metals
- Copper – Industrial Metals
- Aluminum – 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 OK
¶ 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
Fill in the following fields:
- Commodity ID
- Description
- Symbol
- Commodity type
- Agricultural
- Energy
- Precious metals
- Energy
- Precious metals
- Latest price
- Currency
- Item
- 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 a line from the Vendors and buyers FastTab, click on Remove
¶ Step 2.3: Harmonised coding system (HS)
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
