Physical goods, financial markets
Commodities are basic goods that are largely interchangeable, unit for unit: metals such as gold and copper, energy such as crude oil and natural gas, and agricultural products such as wheat and coffee.
Most commodity trading happens through futures contracts — agreements to buy or sell a quantity at a set price on a future date — and through funds and other products that track them.
What moves prices
Supply (mining, harvests, production decisions), demand (industry, the economy), weather, geopolitics, storage costs and the US dollar can all affect commodity prices.