• A commodity market involves buying, selling, or trading a raw product, such as oil, gold, or coffee. • There are hard commodities, which are generally natural resources, and soft commodities, which are livestock or agricultural goods. • Spot commodities markets involve immediate delivery, while derivatives markets entail delivery in the future. • Investors can gain exposure to commodities by investing in companies that have exposure to commodities or investing in commodities directly via futures contracts. • The major U.S. commodity exchanges are ICE Futures U.S. and the CME Group, which holds four major exchanges: the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange, and the Commodity Exchange, Inc.