Commodity exchanges and auctions in international trade

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 510.

Theme of the lecture №3.

Thesis:

Commodity exchanges, or futures exchanges, are, like stock exchanges, membership organizations. Their mission is to provide a suitable place where members trade commodities (futures) or options on futures in a controlled, orderly manner. The exchange itself is not a principal to any futures transaction, nor does it trade for its own account. Except for developing, publishing, and enforcing trading rules, including the establishment of daily price limits to ensure fair and equal treatment for all market participants, the exchange does nothing to determine prevailing prices in the market.

A commodities exchange is an exchange where various commodities and derivatives products are traded. Most commodity markets across the world trade in agricultural products and other raw materials (like wheat, barley, sugar, maize, cotton, cocoa, coffee, milk products, pork bellies, oil, metals, etc.) and contracts based on them. These contracts can include spot prices, forwards, futures and options on futures. Other sophisticated products may include interest rates, environmental instruments, swaps, or ocean freight contracts.

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder. In economic theory, an auction may refer to any mechanism or set of trading rules for exchange.

The word "auction" is derived from the Latin augeō which means "I increase" or "I augment".

A stock exchange is a form of exchange which provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. Securities traded on a stock exchange include shares issued by companies, unit trusts, derivatives, pooled investment products and bonds.

Literature: 1-36.