Commodities are physical assets such as energy resources, metals, and grains. Exchanges trade futures and options with standard specifications, while over-the-counter trades such as forwards, swaps, and options use terms the parties agree between themselves. In over-the-counter trades, the counterparty is often an intermediary such as a trading company, a financial institution, or a broker.
Because a commodity is a physical good that can be consumed, its futures price depends not only on the funding cost but also on the cost of storage and the value of having the physical good on hand for immediate use. This is how commodity derivatives differ from equity and bond derivatives.