The Physical Trade

Physical commodity trading is one of the least understood - and poorly explained - parts of global markets.

This definitive guide walks the reader through the full lifecycle of physical commodity trading, including:

• Why commodity traders exist and the role they play between producers and consumers
• How physical supply chains work - from mine, well, or farm to end user
• The difference between physical trading and futures or paper markets
• How commodities are prices, contracted, and delivered
• Hedging, mark-to-market, and exposure management
• Logistics, shipping, storage, and operational risk
• Trade finance, title documents, and cash-flow constraints
• Counterparty risk, defaults, and periods of market stress
• Where real profits are made, and where costly mistakes occur

Alongside structured explanations, this book includes personal stories from the trading floor, illustrating:

• How decisions are made under pressure
• Where mistakes are most commonly made, and why
• How small operational errors can lead to large financial losses
• The human side of trading that rarely makes it into textbooks

If you want to understand physical commodity trading, not just the prices on a screen but the flows, risks, and decisions behind them, this book was written for you.