why are commodoties and futures grouped together?

[brut]

sorry maybe a basic question, but im a newbie:

why is it that commodoties and futures are grouped together to give the sector "commodoties and futures"?

dont commodoties, just like equities, currencies, and indices, have a spot as well as a futures price?

why is there no sector called currencies and futures, since there is a well defined currency futures market?

for example. If I want to view the Euro/dollar Juine price, does this fall under currencies, or commodoties and futures?

 

[gooseman]

where are they grouped together?

 

[brut]

The book I just read on Introduction to Finincial Markets has chapters on Equities, Currencies, Money Markets, Bonds, and Commodoties and Futures.

The FT website, under market data, has tabs: World Equities, Currencies, Commodoties and Futures, Bonds and Rates, etc.

for example...

 

[gooseman]

not a scooby mate-not really my thing. probably just because the majority of the commodity market is futures-that's how it all started.....

 

[brut]

yeah perhaps. thanks

 

[Rhody Trader]

For a long time "commodities" and "futures" were synonymous because the only real futures trading was done in commodities. In the 1980s, though, financial futures took off. One could actually make an argument nowadays that commodity futures are overshadowed by financial futures. Eurodollars for a long time have been the highest volume contracts.