Actually buying the commodity itself — a gold bar, barrels of oil. Impractical for most retail investors due to storage, insurance, and delivery costs. The prices shown on this page are spot prices.

Agreements to buy or sell a commodity at a fixed price on a future date — what actually sets the prices you see quoted. Complex due to margin requirements, monthly contract rolls, and delivery risk. See the Futures tab.

The most retail-friendly option. Physically-backed ETFs (GLD, SLV) hold the actual commodity in vaults. Futures-based ETFs (USO, UNG) hold rolling futures contracts — watch out for roll yield drag in contango markets. See the ETFs tab.

Buying shares of companies that extract or produce commodities — miners like Newmont (gold), energy companies like ExxonMobil (oil). You get commodity exposure with added company-specific risk, often amplified due to operating leverage.