Oil, timber, wheat, metals and even 'lean hogs' are actively traded in the commodities market. But you don't have to store physical commodities in order to benefit from any increase in the price of these commodities.

There are a variety of ways you can trade in the commodities sector - Exchange Traded Commodities are the most obvious way, but there is also a range of Funds that focus on the commodities sector.

Equally, you can invest in individual companies engaged directly in the sector, or suppliers to those companies too. Investing in suppliers to the sector can be a lower-risk route and help avoid over-exposure: so, for instance if you hold BP shares where performance will be directly affected by the oil price, you might invest in suppliers of exploration equipment, oil rig servicing etc for an indirect route to the sector’s potential. In this section we'll help you explore these different routes to the commodities markets.