What Is a Commodities Exchange?

什么是商品交易所？

A commodities exchange is a legal entity that determines and enforces rules and procedures for trading standardized commodity contracts and related investment products. A commodities exchange also refers to the physical center where trading takes place. The commodities market is massive, trading more than trillions of dollars each day.

商品交易所是一个法律实体，它决定和执行标准化商品合同和相关投资产品交易的规则和程序。商品交易所也指交易发生的物理中心。大宗商品市场规模庞大，每天交易超过数万亿美元。

Traders rarely deliver any physical commodities through a commodities exchange. Instead, they trade futures contracts, where the parties agree to buy or sell a specific amount of the commodity at an agreed-upon price, regardless of what it currently trades at in the market at a predetermined expiration date. The most traded commodity future contract is crude oil.

交易者很少通过商品交易所交付任何实物商品。相反，他们交易期货合约，交易双方同意以商定的价格购买或出售特定数量的商品，而不管该商品在预定到期日的市场交易价格。交易量最大的商品期货合约是原油。

There are several types of modern commodities exchanges, which include metals, fuels, and agricultural commodities exchanges.

现代商品交易所有几种类型，包括金属、燃料和农产品商品交易所。

Understanding Commodities Exchanges

关于商品交易所

Commodities exchanges are the central location where commodities are traded. The commodity markets began with the trading of agricultural products such as corn, cattle, wheat, and pigs in the 19th century. Chicago was the main hub for this kind of trading, due to its geographical location near the farm belt and because it was a key east-west transit point with railroad access. Modern commodity markets trade many types of investment vehicles, and are often utilized by various investors from commodity producers to investment speculators.

商品交易所是商品交易的中心场所。大宗商品市场始于19世纪的农产品交易，如玉米、牛、小麦和猪。芝加哥是这种贸易的主要枢纽，因为它的地理位置靠近农业区，且是一个重要的东西向铁路交通枢纽。现代商品市场交易许多类型的投资工具，并经常被各种投资者利用，包括商品生产者和投资投机者。

Two of the best known commodity exchanges in the United States are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). CME Group is the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, handling three billion contracts worth approximately $1 quadrillion annually, while the NYMEX is one part of the CME Group.

美国最著名的两个商品交易所是芝加哥商品交易所集团(CME)和纽约商品交易所(NYMEX)。芝加哥商品交易所集团是全球领先、最多样化的衍生品市场，每年处理30亿份合约，价值约1万亿美元，而纽约商品交易所是芝加哥商品交易所集团的一部分。

The most well-known commodity exchange in Europe is the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Similar to CME and NYMEX, ICE is an electronic commodity exchange with no physical trading floor. In a cost competitive environment, electronic exchanges are becoming more prevalent. The only physical commodity trading exchange left in Europe is the London Metal Exchange (LME). The LME is the world center for the trading of industrial metals—more than three quarters of all non-ferrous metal futures business is transacted there.

欧洲最著名的商品交易所是洲际交易所(ICE)。与CME和NYMEX类似，ICE是一个没有实体交易场所的电子商品交易所。在成本竞争激烈的环境中，电子交易变得越来越普遍。欧洲仅存的实物商品交易交易所是伦敦金属交易所(LME)。LME是世界工业金属交易中心，超过四分之三的有色金属期货交易在这里进行。

Limitations of Commodities Exchanges

商品交易所的局限性

The nature of commodities exchanges is changing rapidly. The trend is in the direction of electronic trading and away from traditional open outcry trading, where traders meet face-to-face and trade in what is known as a trading pit. With the open outcry system, traders communicate buy and sell orders through hand and verbal signals, just like an auction.

商品交易所的性质正在迅速变化。趋势是朝着电子交易的方向发展，而不是传统的公开喊价交易，在传统的公开喊价交易中，交易者面对面地在所谓的交易场内进行交易。在公开喊价系统中，交易者通过手势和语言信号交流买卖指令，就像拍卖一样。

For example, in July 2016, CME Group closed down the NYMEX commodities trading floor, the last of its kind, after all but 0.3% of its energy and metals volumes shifted to computers. A year earlier, CME decided to shut down the commodity trading floor in Chicago, ending a 167-year-old tradition of face-to-face trading in favor of fully electronic trading.

例如，2016年7月，芝加哥商品交易所集团关闭了纽约商品交易所(NYMEX)的大宗商品交易大厅，这是同类交易中的最后一个，此前该国只有0.3%的能源和金属交易量转移到了电脑上。一年前，CME决定关闭芝加哥的商品交易大厅，结束了167年的面对面交易传统，转而支持完全电子化交易。

Types of Commodities

商品种类

A commodity is a basic good that is interchangeable with other commodities of the same type. They are generally used in the production of goods and services.

商品是一种基本商品，可以与其他同类商品互换。它们通常用于商品和服务的生产。

We may not realize it, but commodities have a very important place in our everyday lives. Consider the cotton that makes up your clothing, the lumber that makes up the frame of your home, or even the metal in your electronics.

我们可能没有意识到，但商品在我们的日常生活中有着非常重要的地位。想想制作衣服的棉花，制作房屋框架的木材，甚至是电子产品中的金属。

The following is a list of some of the most traded commodities in the world.

以下是世界上交易量最大的一些商品清单。

Crude Oil: One of the most important commodities in the world, crude oil is an unrefined petroleum product that occurs naturally. It is used to produce different products including gasoline and petrochemicals. The price for crude oil generally reported in the U.S. is based on the NYMEX futures price. Contracts are based on 1,000 barrels and trade in U.S. dollars per barrel. The third business day before the 25th calendar day of the month preceding the delivery month is the last trading day for crude oil.

原油：世界上最重要的商品之一，原油是一种天然存在的未精炼石油产品。它被用来生产不同的产品，包括汽油和石化产品。美国通常报告的原油价格是基于纽约商品交易所的期货价格。合约以1000桶为基础，并以每桶美元的方式进行交易。交割月份前一个月的第25个日历日之前的第三个营业日为原油的最后交易日。

Gold: This is one of the world's most widely-traded precious metals. While investors can buy and sell the physical commodities, traders typically trade gold futures contracts on commodities exchanges. Contracts are generally sized at 100 troy ounces and are priced in U.S. dollars per troy ounce. The last trading day for gold is the third last business day of the delivery month.

黄金：这是世界上交易最广泛的贵金属之一。虽然投资者可以买卖实物商品，但交易者通常在商品交易所交易黄金期货合约。合约通常以100金衡盎司为单位，以每金衡盎司美元计价。黄金的最后一个交易日是交割月份的倒数第三个交易日。

Lumber: This industry has two main products for the end user—softwood and hardwood. Softwood is used primarily in construction, while hardwood is used in flooring and furniture construction, and to make panels and cabinets. Contract sizes for lumber are generally 110,000 nominal board feet and are traded in U.S. dollars per pound. The business day immediately preceding the 16th calendar day of the contract month is the last trading day for lumber.

木材：这个行业为终端用户提供两种主要产品——软木和硬木。软木主要用于建筑，而硬木用于地板和家具制造，以及制作面板和橱柜。木材的合同尺寸通常为110,000标称板英尺，并以每磅美元进行交易。合同月份第16个日历日之前的营业日是木材的最后一个交易日。

Natural Gas: This commodity is used to heat homes, help generate electricity, and also has other uses in the commercial and industrial industries. Natural gas contracts are sold by 10,000 million British thermal units (mmBtu). All contracts are traded in U.S. dollars per mmBtu. The final trading day of the month for natural gas is three business days prior to the first day of the delivery month.

天然气：这种商品用于家庭取暖，帮助发电，在商业和工业中也有其他用途。天然气合同以100亿英国热量单位(mmBtu)出售。所有合约都以每mmBtu美元进行交易。天然气每月的最后一个交易日是交割月第一天之前的三个营业日。

Cotton: Cotton is the most widely used fiber in the world. Cotton fibers are collected and made into yarn and other textiles for clothing and other household goods. Cotton contracts are sized at 50,000 pounds, and trade in U.S. dollars per pound. The very last day of trading for cotton is 17 business days from the end of the spot month.

棉花：棉花是世界上使用最广泛的纤维。棉纤维被收集起来，制成纱线和其他纺织品，用于服装和其他家庭用品。棉花合约的大小为50,000磅，每磅以美元交易。棉花交易的最后一天是现货月结束后的17个工作日。

Other commodities that trade on commodities exchanges include silver, platinum, rice, sugar, orange juice, oats, cattle, corn, copper, cocoa, soybeans, and coffee. This, however, is not an exhaustive list of what you can find on an exchange.

在商品交易所交易的其他商品包括银、铂、大米、糖、橙汁、燕麦、牛、玉米、铜、可可、大豆和咖啡。但是，这并不是你在交易所能找到的详尽清单。

How Does a Commodities Exchange Work?

商品交易所的作用

Commodities exchanges used to operate similar to stock exchanges, where traders would trade on a trading floor for their brokers. However, modern trading has led to that process being halted and all trading is now done electronically. While the commodities exchanges do still exist and have employees, their trading floors have been closed.

商品交易所过去的作用类似于股票交易所，交易者在交易大厅为他们的经纪人进行交易。但是，现代贸易已经导致这一过程停止，所有的交易现在都是以电子方式进行的。尽管商品交易所仍然存在并拥有员工，但它们的交易大厅已经关闭。

（英文来源：Investopedia）