Commodities

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A commodity is a physical substance that investors buy or sell, usually via futures contracts. Commodity prices are records of the actual sales of a commodity; commodity futures prices are records of payment for the option to buy or sell a commodity on a specific future date for an agreed upon fixed price.

This guide identifies selected sources for researching commodities, particularly prices and trade data.

Related Guides

UBC Library

Other Libraries

Simon Fraser University Library. Commodities. Covers commodities research from economic, geographic and business perspectives. UBC Library may carry some of the resources available.
University of Alberta Libraries. Commodity Price Sources.

UBC Departments

Sauder School of Business. Finance Division.
UBC. Dept. of Economics.

Image: CME Group/Henry Delforn/Allan Schoenberg (CME Group) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Contact a librarian for help

Vancouver Campus: Librarians at David Lam Library

Okanagan Campus: Barbara Sobol, barbara.sobol@ubc.ca / (250) 807-8063

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Workshops | How To Cite | Course Materials

Exchanges

There is no single commodity exchange which trades in all commodities. Some exchanges deal in several commodities, some in just one commodity. Consult the current volume of the CRB Commodity Yearbook, available in Koerner Library, to determine which exchange deals with your commodity.

Rutgers Library provides a comprehensive list of Canadian, U.S. and international commodity exchanges.
Arizona State University Library identifies exchanges dealing in agricultural commodities.

Selected exchanges include:

Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Deals in diverse commodities, including agriculture, energy, and metals.
Intercontinental Exchange (formerly the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange). Deals in global agricultural, credit, currency, emissions, energy and equity index markets.
Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Deals in metals and energy.

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Prices - General

Current prices of specific commodities can be viewed on the website of the relevant exchange. Newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal and New York Times provide current information on selected commodities. Sources below provide current and historical prices for a variety of commodities:

Current & Historical
Bloomberg, available in CLC Computer Lab 222
Datastream, available in CLC Computer Lab 222

Current
INO.com
Sharelink. Global Stock Market Quotes. Scroll down to find Commodities & Futures.
Tradingcharts.com. TFC Commodity Charts. Daily commodity futures and financial market information, in online charts and intraday commodity futures quotes

Historical
Annual
Commodity Research Bureau. CRB commodity year book, HF1041 .C56
International Monetary Fund. Primary Commodity Prices
UN Conference on Trade and Development. UnctadStat Reports. Annual and monthly market commodity prices for selected commodities exported by developing economies
World Bank. Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet). Annual, quarterly and monthly averages

Monthly
Standard & Poors statistical service. Current statistics, HG4915 .S66
Survey of current business, HC1 .R1982 , Koerner Library reference

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Agricultural Products

General Sources

Bloomberg, available in CLC Computer Lab 222.
Datastream, available in CLC Computer Lab 222

CME Group. Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Find current data on Agriculture, Energy, and Metals.
Commodities Price Locator / Karen J. Chapman / ZHF1040.7 .C46 1989
This 1989 book identifies over 150 publications that regularly report commodity prices. Organized by commodity name, it identifies government publications which now may be available on the web. Other sources may be available through library databases, like Lexis Nexis. Search for journals by title here.
ICE.com (formerly Winnipeg Commodity Exchange).
International Monetary Fund. Primary Commodity Prices.
World Bank. Commodity Price Data (Pink Sheet)

Agriculture specific sources

Alberta Canola Producers Commission. Marketing Resources. Collects daily grain prices and weekly feed grain prices. Links to ICE Futures Exchange for Canola and Western Barley.
Scotiabank. Commodity Price Indices
OECD.Stat. Select Statistical Annuals from the drop-down menu; select OECD Agriculture Outlook; select Statistical Tables. Historical and forecasted country information on prices, tariffs, production & consumption
FAOStat. Historical crop prices by country.
US Dept. of Agriculture. National Agricultural Statistics Service. Reports by Commodity.
Minneapolis Grain Exchange. (MGEX). Agricultural indexes including hard red spring/winter indexes, soft red winter wheat index, national corn index and national soybean index futures and options.

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Chemicals

General Sources

Chemical Specific Sources

Clemson University Libraries. Chemical Commodity Prices Guide.

Specific Sources
ICIS Chemical Business e-journal (2007 - present)
Lexis Nexis Academic. ICIS Chemical Business and several others often contain current pricing information.

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Construction Materials

General Sources

ENR (Engineering News-Record) - TA1 E61 (the print edition lists more prices)
ENR (Engineering News-Record) - electronic version

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Energy

General Sources

Energy Specific Sources

Electricity
Hydro-Québec. Comparison of Electricity Prices in Major North American Cities. (covers 22 cities)
Manitoba Hydro. Utility Rate Comparisons : Survey of Canadian Electricity BIlls.

Fuels, Oil and Gas
BP Global. Statistical Review of World Energy. Current and historical data, including downloadable tables of annual averages for spot crude oil prices (1974 to present), and cruide oil prices (1861 to present).
Canada. Natural Resources Canada. Fuel Focus. Current and Historical fuel and crude oil prices
Canada. Statistics Canada. Energy statistics handbook. Monthly and historical data
Cenovus Energy. Crude Oil Pricing.
Flint Hills Resources. Crude Oil Pricing.
International Air Transport Association. This Week's Jet Fuel Price
Oil and gas journal, TN 860.O42 (print edition lists more prices)
Oilweek (Available at Koerner Library. Call number: HD 9560.1 O349)
Petroleum Services Association of Canada. Statistics. Links to prices and production, well and rig counts, and pipeline statistics.
Petroleumplace.com
Suncor Energy. Daily Crude Oil Prices
US. Dept. of Energy. International energy price information, by country, fuel type, sector, etc.
US. Dept. of Energy. Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center.
Vancouvergasprices.com charts the retail price of gas in Vancouver as well as elsewhere

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Forest Products

General Sources

Lumber and Panels
Madison's Canadian Lumber Reporter - HD 9764 C3 M245
Random Lengths - HD9750.2.R35L44

Paper
Official Board Markets
PIX Paper Benchmark Prices
PPI Week (not available at UBC)

Pulp
PIX Pulp Benchmark Prices
PPI Week (not available at UBC)
Scotiabank Commodity Price Indices

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Metals & Minerals

General Sources

Metals & Minerals Specific Sources

Engineering & mining journal (E&MJ)

Metal statistics

Kitco.com

Metal Prices in the US through 1998

Metalprices.com

Mineral and Metal Commodity Reviews

Mineral Commodity Summaries

Northern Miner

Scotiabank Commodity Price Indices

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Plastics

General Sources

Plastics specific resources

Modern Plastics Worldwide

Plastics Technology

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Price Forecasts

Journals
Business Monitor International
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Country Viewswire.

Websites
BMO Capital Markets. Commodity Forecasts.
CIBC. Economics & Strategy. Scroll down to Commodities Outlook.
Scotiabank. Economics Publications. Includes Global Forecast and various industry and commodity reports.
TD Economics. Forecasts. Includes Commodity Price Forecast Update.

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Trade

Export Development Canada. Produces publications like Commodity Tracker, and Commodity Analyst.
Industry Canada. T rade Data Online. Users can generate customized reports on Canada's and U.S. trade in goods with over 200 countries. Searchable by product or industry.
UN comtrade. Commodity Trade Statistics Database from United Nations Statistics Division.
OECD. International Trade by Commodity (publication)
OECD.Stat. (Data) Go to OECD Databases, and then select ITCS International Trade by Commodity.
Statistics Canada.
United States. International Trade Commission. Interactive Tariff and Trade Dataweb.
World Bank. Global Trade Updates.
World Trade Organization.

Librarian

Jan Wallace (David Lam Library)

Last Modified 1:02 pm, Jan 18 2012

The University of British Columbia

Commodities