10 Most Traded Commodities by Volume and Value Explained

Crude oil is the world's most traded commodity. Its two benchmark futures, Brent and WTI, changed hands 546 million times in 2025, according to the Futures Industry Association (FIA). The physical market is just as large: about 106 million barrels pumped every day (US Energy Information Administration, EIA). Gold, natural gas, copper, and silver complete the top five. This guide ranks the ten most traded commodities in the global commodity market and backs every spot on the list with two things: trading volume and market value.

Volume vs Value: What “Most Traded” Really Means

The phrase can mean two things. Volume is the number of futures contracts traded on exchanges each year. The FIA counts these, and its latest report (February 4, 2026) shows commodity trading grew in 2025: energy volume rose 30%, and metals rose 24.5%. Value is what the underlying market is worth: barrels pumped, tons mined, or dollars changing hands each day.

A commodity can top one list and sit lower on the other, so each entry below covers both. One note on names: ICE, NYMEX, COMEX, CBOT, LME, SHFE, and DCE are futures exchanges, the marketplaces where these contracts trade. Futures prices can also differ from the spot market, where commodities trade for immediate delivery.

The 10 Most Traded Commodities at a Glance

Volume figures count futures contracts traded in 2025, from the FIA report published on February 4, 2026. Value figures are dated in each entry below.

What Are the 10 Most Traded Commodities?

1. Crude Oil

Oil moves more money than anything else on this list. Brent traded 321.2 million contracts on ICE in 2025, up 10%, and WTI added 224.9 million on NYMEX (FIA). The physical side is just as heavy: the world pumped about 106 million barrels a day in 2025 (EIA), roughly $7 billion of oil daily at the year’s average Brent price near $69. Fuel demand, OPEC+ supply decisions, and geopolitics keep the market busy nearly 24 hours a day, and the gap between the two benchmarks shows traders where supply is tight.

2. Gold

Gold had a record year in 2025. An average of $361 billion changed hands every day, up 56% from 2024, and the price set new records 53 times (World Gold Council). COMEX leads gold futures in dollar terms, while the Shanghai Futures Exchange contract grew 49.1% to 110 million contracts (FIA). Central banks kept buying, and investors bought gold as an asset that holds value when markets turn nervous. Many retail traders follow it through gold CFDs, which track the price without owning bars.

3. Natural Gas

Gas is the fuel behind much of the world’s electricity and heating. Henry Hub, the US benchmark, traded 165.6 million contracts on ICE and another 137.1 million on NYMEX in 2025, while Dutch TTF, Europe’s benchmark, grew 22.5% (FIA). Liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipping now links prices across Europe, Asia, and North America, turning gas into one global market. Gas is priced month by month, so later months often cost more or less than nearby ones, a pattern called contango or backwardation, and cold winters or storage surprises move prices fast.

4. Copper

Copper goes into wiring, buildings, power grids, and electric cars, which makes it the benchmark industrial metal. Futures trade on the LME, SHFE, and COMEX, and volume rose on both the LME and SHFE in 2025 (FIA). It was also one of the few industrial metals to gain in price that year, and the World Bank (October 2025) projects record highs in 2026 and 2027. Most supply comes from mines in Chile and Peru, and traders watch copper as a quick health check on global manufacturing.

5. Silver

Silver was the busiest precious metal of 2025 by contract count. The SHFE silver future traded 339.9 million contracts, the largest total in the sector (FIA). On the value side, mines produced about 26,000 metric tons in 2025 (USGS), and the United States added silver to its critical minerals list in November 2025. Silver plays two roles: it follows gold as a monetary metal, and industry needs it for solar panels and electronics.

6. Soybeans

The soybean complex feeds farm animals and supplies cooking oil worldwide. Soybean meal on the DCE was the world's largest agricultural futures contract in 2025, with 452.3 million contracts, and CBOT soybeans added 74 million (FIA). Brazil, the United States, and Argentina grow most of the crop; China buys more of it than any other country, and prices move with harvest weather in the producing regions.

7. Wheat

Wheat is the world’s most widely grown food staple. The CBOT contract is the busiest wheat future and sets the global export price, and because wheat grows on every inhabited continent, demand for it never stops. Volume trails corn and soybeans, but prices react fast: export bans, drought, or conflict in a producing region can reprice wheat within days.

8. Coffee

Coffee is the most actively traded soft commodity. ICE hosts the two benchmarks: Arabica Coffee C for higher-grade beans and Robusta for the stronger type used in instant blends. Brazil grows the most Arabica and Vietnam the most Robusta, so weather in those two countries moves prices more than anything else. A frost or drought in Brazil has caused some of the sharpest price swings any commodity has recorded.

9. Corn

Corn has one of the broadest demand bases in any market. In 2025, it traded 183.9 million contracts on the DCE and 109.8 million on CBOT (FIA). Demand spans animal feed, food processing, and ethanol fuel, which ties part of the corn market to energy prices. The United States, China, and Brazil grow most of the world’s supply.

10. Aluminum

Aluminium closes the list as the most produced metal after steel. The LME contract traded 35 million lots in 2025 and sets the world price. Cars, planes, packaging, and construction all depend on it, and because making aluminium takes huge amounts of electricity, power costs often move aluminium prices as much as ore supply does.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most traded commodity in the world?

Crude oil. Brent and WTI futures traded a combined 546 million contracts in 2025 (FIA), and the world pumped about 106 million barrels a day (EIA), more value than any other raw material.

What is the difference between volume and value in commodity trading?

Volume counts futures contracts traded on exchanges. Value is what the underlying market is worth, such as barrels pumped or dollars traded daily. A commodity can rank high on one measure and lower on the other.

What makes a commodity highly traded?

Deep liquidity, standard contracts everyone can trade, wide real-world demand, and prices that move. Benchmarks such as Brent crude and COMEX gold attract producers, funds, and traders worldwide.

How do traders access the most traded commodities?

Common routes include exchange-traded futures, shares of producing companies, exchange-traded funds, and commodity CFDs, which track prices without owning the physical asset. Costs, contract sizes, and risks differ across each route.

Why the Measure Matters More Than the Ranking

Rankings change with the measure. Soybean meal leads by contract count, oil leads by value, and gold leads by daily turnover. What never changes is concentration: a handful of benchmark contracts on a few exchanges carries most of the world’s commodity trading, and exchanges in China now host several of the largest. Before comparing two numbers, check what each one counts: contracts, output, or dollars. That one check is the fastest way to avoid reading commodity data wrong.

Disclaimer: This material is for general information purposes only and is not intended as (and should not be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by EBC or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.