Commodities trading deals with agricultural products, such as wheat, malt, sugar and corn, as well as metals, such as gold and contracts based on the purchase and trade of these goods, as opposed to the stock market which deals with all types of financial instruments, such as stocks, government securities, interest rates and indexes.

With the advent of technology, both stock and commodities trading are now traded online. For purposes of discussion, we will focus on commodities trading online.

The industrial revolution ushered in new technology that include more effective tools, a number of which are capable of creating more food. This new efficiency demanded more agricultural storage, transport, and more competent circulation of produce.