Beginner's Guide to Commodities Trading

Commodity trading has emerged as a popular avenue for earning money, offering an alternative to traditional equity markets. Unlike the stock or corporate bond market, commodity trading involves buying and selling real commodities such as gold or pulses. These raw materials that form the foundation of economic production carry an inherent value, making them attractive investments. 

On commodity exchanges, traders gather to buy and sell commodities ranging from metals and petroleum products to agricultural produce. This offers investors a chance to diversify their portfolio beyond standard securities. During periods of market volatility when equities usually take a hit, some investors turn towards commodities whose prices often move in opposite directions. 

The universe of tradable commodities is divided into two broad categories - hard and soft commodities. Hard commodities are typically used as inputs in manufacturing processes or delivering services; they include metals and minerals among others. Soft Commodities on the other hand are largely consumed directly like wheat or rice. 

Just like with stocks, trading in commodities requires you to have a demat account which can be opened with any brokerage firm. However, given the complexity of commodity markets it's important to choose a reputable brokerage that provides valuable advice while charging competitive rates since high fees could eat into your profits. 

Trading in commodities offers several benefits including diversification that reduces risk by spreading out investments across different types of assets; inflation protection since rising costs generally increase the value of owned resources; liquidity due their easy purchase-sale process akin to stocks providing control over one’s money. 

Returns from investing in this space depend on multiple factors including cost variations related storage-insurance-financing expenses; currency fluctuations given most goods valued in US dollars affecting demand based on dollar strength-weakness; geopolitical-economic stability influencing supply chains-prices through wars-political upheaval-economic sanctions occurring where product produced etc.; global economic trends impacting demand during expansions-recessions phases respectively along with government policies around trade agreements-tariffs-subsidies-environmental laws among others; inflation-interest rates affecting cost of financing-holding commodities and hence their prices; market speculations about future prices influencing current pricing and costs related to storage-transportation, especially for perishable items. 

Investors can explore different methods to trade in commodities such as direct investment by buying assets like gold-silver coins-jewelry albeit with high transaction fees, purity-storage issues or through purchasing stocks of companies involved in commodity business where stock price is influenced by underlying commodity price. Even if the particular commodity underperforms, strong fundamentals of a well-established company might still offer gains. 

In conclusion, while trading in commodities does involve substantial risk due to its volatile nature, it also holds the potential for significant returns. A thorough understanding of supply-demand dynamics along with inflationary trends is crucial for success in this space. As always prudent decision-making backed by comprehensive research forms the bedrock of profitable investments whether it's equities or commodities.