Board Broker

Ever heard people speculating on future prices of corn, wheat, oil, metals, and pork bellies? Well...this is the world of commodities trading.

Just like a broker on a traditional stock exchange, there are commodities exchange board brokers who provide price quotations, create markets, and handle buy and sell orders from customers. For a broker to maintain a high level of commission, he or she must have great knowledge of the markets they serve, strong risk management—and a lot of luck.

Board brokers generally specialize, because like...what does a pork bellies trader know about oil? It’s a little sad to contemplate, but board brokers are starting to become a thing of the past. There is simply not as much price volatility in the commodities markets anymore, and future price forecasting is difficult with crazy weather patterns, tariff wars, and currency devaluations. Computers can handle just about everything a broker does in less than a second, but can it go out and find a market for potash?