Commodities are basic items or raw materials that can be used to produce other finished items. They are separated into two main categories. ‘Hard’ commodities, which are natural resources that must be extracted or mined. And ‘Soft’ commodities are agricultural products such as crops and livestock. Here are the top traded commodities in the world Crude oil is one of the highest demanded commodities as it can be processed into products such as lubricants, plastics, diesel, and petrol. It is extracted from oil fields in the North Sea’s Brent, Ekosfisk, Oseberg, and Forties fields, off the shores of the UK and Norway. ... (full story)