r/Commodities

Hey everyone,

could really use some advice here, been trying to break into commodities and not sure what the smartest next move is.

I’m finishing my MSc in Mechanical Engineering at ETH (graduating this October, ~3.75 GPA). Over the past year I’ve gotten pretty into commodities, mainly oil & gas, renewables, and metals like copper and zinc.

So far I’ve done an internship in business development and spent quite a bit of time trying to actually understand markets, reading things like Commodities Demystified, The World for Sale / Perfectly Hedged, Oil 101, and generally following news pretty closely. I also applied to a bunch of roles and made it to second round at Trafigura, which was encouraging, but didn’t convert. And yeah, Glencore is 0/4 with no interviews at all lol.

Right now I’m kind of stuck in a weird gap. Most grad programs that start in 2027 are not even open for applications yet, so that path is basically on hold for now. At the same time I’ve got interviews coming up for internships, one at BCG as a Visiting Associate and one at Axpo, which is a Swiss energy company, for a data analytics role. I’m also still applying to trading houses like Tricon and Peninsula, but haven’t heard back so far.

So I’m wondering what you would do in my position. Does it make sense to take another internship, even if it’s not directly commodity related, and just keep applying on the side?

Would really appreciate any honest advice, especially from people who didn’t come from a super traditional background.

Thanks

I’m an engineering undergrad from the Nordics currently doing an internship in power trading. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility and recently obtained the EPEX Spot trader certification.

Long-term, my goal is to run my own trading firm and build a track record strong enough to attract external capital.

I’m currently at a small firm where I get hands-on experience and real responsibility early on. At the same time, I’m considering pursuing a specialized master’s (e.g. in Switzerland) to deepen my technical skills and build a stronger network — potentially with high-level people in the industry.

So I’m trying to figure out what’s the better move:

• Stay at a small firm and continue building practical,

market-relevant experience

• Or pursue a top-tier master’s to level up

technically and expand my network

Thanks.

Commodity: AU GOLD BARS. HS71081200 IN AU Bars

Product Form: Gold Dore Bar 1 Kg

Fineness (Purity): 96.0 to 99.9 %

Origin: Central Africa

Current Location: Kenya

Product: History Clean, clear, not liens, and noncriminal origin

Port of Loading: Nairobi Kenya

 Trial Tranche: Twenty-Five Kilograms (25 Kgs) Minimum - MOQ

Monthly Quantity: One hundred Kilograms (100Kgs) to One Thousand (1000Kgs)

Duration of Contract: One Year (12 Months) with rolls and extensions

Price: LBMA

Discount: LBMA less 10% net to the buyer (depending on Qty)

Inspection: Final Assay in Buyer’s Refinery – TBC

Payment Guarantee: After inspection buyer will pay the agent for smelting and testing costs, Export taxes, Insurance, Freight and Agents handling fees. (10%)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT DO CASH AND CARRY OR WE DO NOT TRAVEL WITH GOLD TO ANOTHER COUNTRY WITHOUT ANY PAYMENT GUARENTEE. WE HIGHLY ENCOURGAE INTERESTED PARTIES TO DO THEIR OWN DUE DILIGENCE AND INSPECTION AND TO OVERLOOK THE SMELTING PROCESS. 

BUYERS WHO TELL US TO "BRING GOLD TO 'X' COUNTRY" WILL BE INSTANTLY IGNORED.

I have found reliable and Trustworthy sellers and mine owners through high level connections which definitely cannot be disclosed.

Contact me: +264817370456

$CORN is slowly bleeding up and nobody seems to be noticing. you will wake up to 25 a share one day this year and wonder how it got there. The setup is simple.

The Strait closure has bottlenecked fertilizer supply across the board. Corn is nitrogen heavy and requires lots of fertilizer to grow. Many farmers see the writing on the wall and are switching their acreages to soybeans, which will even further choke out the corn supply.

To many of you going, ”So what?” Corn is the literal lifeblood of the food industry. It’s in everything you eat. And everything you eat also eats it. There are dozens of industrial applications. Oils, lubricants, dyes, fuels, additives. Once the rest of the market catches on to this, you’re going tk have a lot of fish trying to get into a very small pond. The ETF only has about 12.8 million shares. I see explosive price action toward the end of this year into next year. Potential surpassing ATH.

Based in Switzerland been here as expat for 2 years. Have M.Sc. from non target in agricultural economics studying in EU+US in major agricultural hubs. speak FR, IT, SP, English fluently with decently flat accent and been trying for so long to break into one of the ABCD as trader, even for graduate positions without success. Have about 4YOE, though no consulting mostly strategic procurement and logistics (airfreight, sigh). I’ve even interned at an ABCD in their R&D during bachelor. At the moment I even run my own analysis website with few clients focused on cereals.

Been seeing wild hiring trends, companies hiring nepo kids, people with no seemingly good fit for an ag trader? At this point I feel like I don’t get what I’m missing:

- is it because I didn’t study at a target school

- is it because my profile is not attractive, but then what is it not? What can I do to make it look better?

- is it better at this point to do something hands on which is not trading like idk origination in some EU country? Do I grind in an operations role? That also seem impossible to get if you don’t have experience in ag commodities specifically

- do I move to origination countries like Brazil’s or something like that where I might have more opportunities

Be glad to hear your inputs or roast me

I am already part of an energy company however want to make an internal shift to trading. There is an analyst position open however the requirements are to be able to work 12-hour shifts including nights and weekends. I want to use this position as a way to become a day ahead trader so I can work regular hours. For those already in the field and doing this schedule is it worth it? A DA trader told me most people with that schedule tend to burnout within a year.

Hi all,

I’m a final year Electrical Engineering student in the uk aiming for a career in commodities trading or related.

I’m currently in the recruitment process of a commercial graduate scheme at a large offshore energy contractor.

I’m trying to figure out:

1. Is this a viable route into commodities?

I know it’s not a direct trading role, but could it realistically lead to a career in trading?

2. Which rotations would be best from the following:

Tendering

Finance

Contracts

Supply chain

Thanks!

Hi, I'm working as operator (some companies call it scheduler)

ofc I know it's really difficult to become trader.

however, I see people with amazing career such as working in BP, Chevron, Exxon for a long time as operator

I'm now wondering why didn't they become trader, even though they are age of 40s?

Long post, but genuinely looking for honest feedback from people in the industry.

Background: I’m currently finishing a Master in Finance at a top 5-10 business school in Europe, where I’m ranked first in my cohort. I also finished first in my bachelor’s in business management, and in the exchange programme I completed at another business school during that degree.

Before the MiF, I interned in consulting at a Big Four firm with a focus on financial risk, and after that I worked a year in project management for an air freight logistics company. I’m also involved as officer in 2 relevant student clubs. I speak five languages. I’m an EU citizen, so work authorisation across the EU and Switzerland is not a constraint.

The search so far: I’ve sent over 150 applications. I’m not just blasting LinkedIn, I’m on specialised commodity job boards, applying directly through company career pages, cold emailing, cold messaging people on LinkedIn, and leaning hard on every connection I have or can make in the industry. I’ve also started sending spontaneous outreach emails to smaller companies that don’t have a structured hiring platform or any current openings listed.

I’m not holding out for front-office trader roles either. I’m actively targeting trade support, trade finance, operations, risk – anything that gets me in the door. Also not narrowing down on any specific commodity or sector, I’m looking broad amongst Energy, metals, Agri,…

Also have been applying all over Europe mostly, with some in London/Singapore as well with little response as well.

On the interest side, I’m genuinely passionate about this space. I read everything I can get my hands on. I follow markets, current events, the macro backdrop, the physical side. It’s become a real and growing interest, not something I’m performing for interviews. Also have gotten more and more comfortable with all the ‘technicals’ after preparing quite a bit on them.

The closest I got: I progressed to the final round of an ABCD agri graduate programme. The feedback was that they liked my profile and that I interviewed well – but they went with candidates who already had direct trading experience. Fair enough, but that’s a hard loop to break when every role seems to want experience I can only get by being hired.

What I’m struggling to understand: A few people I’ve spoken to who went through similar programmes in previous years, with comparable backgrounds, seem to have had noticeably more traction and response rate than I’m getting now. I don’t know if the market has shifted, if I’m doing something wrong in how I’m positioning myself, or if I’m missing something structural about how this industry actually hires.

I’m running low on ideas and would genuinely appreciate any honest perspective – even if it’s uncomfortable to hear.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hi everyone! I'm a rising junior at a target school studying Finance and CS, and just wondering how screwed am I/what my plan should be for this summer given that I wasn't able to find a summer internship. Thank you so much.

Currently go to top 20 ranked school (US). I’m studying chemical engineering and my gps is on the lower side (3.0-3.4) would this hold me back getting interviews? What gpa should I go for as an engineering major?

Hi everyone,

I am an undergrad student almost last-year.

I do love commodities as they are the blend of different aspects which do intrigue me.

However a major aspect for my career is the compensation.

I am based in Europe, and for what I have researched commodity trading has huge upside more than investment banking or private equity.

However I would like to understand if the life as a commodity trader is a job which give you the possibility to live affordable. It seems like the first years on the desk the compensation is really low.

So as I am figuring out which master would be better for me either a master focused on commodity at a lower tier uni such as university of geneve or a higher tier uni but with a focus on economics/finance so that if the comps is low I can pivot to asset management maybe with focus on emerging market which is closely related to commodities.

I'm looking into freight trading roles and trying to understand how people actually manage risk day to day.

From what I’ve read, there’s a mix of physical exposure (time charters vs spot) and financial hedging (FFAs), but I’m struggling to understand how portfolios are structured in practice.

For those working in freight trading:

• How do you think about balancing TC coverage vs spot exposure?
• How actively do you hedge with FFAs vs letting positions run?
• Are there common portfolio structures or is it more discretionary?
• Any examples of how you adjust positioning when volatility picks up?

Not looking for any trade secrets - just trying to get a more realistic picture beyond academic research. Thanks in advance!

Hi

Am new to this sub, didn't even know this sub existed till a few days ago when it started appearing on my feed.

I can see most posts are by people getting into the financial side of things. I'm from the physical side actually mining the stuff out the ground. Base and precious metals. I'm most exposed to price risk and counterparty credit default risk (buyer defaults or goes out of business when I deliver product)

What are strategies that I can used as a miner to protect myself? It seems surprisingly hard to even get a call with a investment bank to talk to me let alone sell me a product!!!

Yes previously I've been in finance side but now I've moved to actual commodities rather than engineering paper

Thailand’s sugar sector is becoming increasingly important in global trade, especially for Asia-Pacific buyers.

Based on the latest 2025/26 outlook:

• Production is forecast at ~10.3 million metric tons, continuing recovery from prior drought cycles
• Sugarcane crush is expected around 90 million tons
• Extraction efficiency is improving, now exceeding 110 kg per ton

One of the biggest structural shifts is the move toward fresh cane harvesting. This is improving sugar quality, reducing emissions, and aligning with sustainability requirements from international buyers.

From a trade perspective, Thailand offers a few key advantages:

– Faster shipping times to Asia (typically 7–14 days vs 30+ from Brazil)
– Full range of sugar grades (raw VHP → ICUMSA 45 refined)
– Flexible contract structures for buyers

Current FOB pricing ranges (indicative):
– ICUMSA 45: ~$480–$540/MT
– ICUMSA 100: ~$440–$490/MT
– Raw sugar: ~$380–$430/MT

Main risks to watch:
– Climate volatility (El Niño / La Niña cycles)
– Crop disease impacting yields in some regions
– Global pricing pressure during Brazil’s peak export season

Curious how others here are approaching sourcing in 2026 — are you diversifying supply origins or staying concentrated?

What are the coolest applications of AI in trading you’ve come across? Anything you’re building which you are comfortable sharing?

1. crude
2. Jet fuel
3. MGO
4. FO
5. Naphtha
6. Gasoline
7. Diesel

I am an early career candidate and currently work in the US and i got a job offer from a well-established energy analytics firm in netherlands but they pay seems surprisingly low. I am surprised honestly. is 40-50K € normal? i would love to hear about savings and other perks. Similar jobs in the germany seem like they pay pretty much the same but UK is closer to US wages. Job seems super interesting but honestly its the financial reality that I am deliberating about.