Having long been a largely deregulated industry, intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the global financial crisis has left commodities trading subject to a raft of harmonized regulations, many of which have yet to be finalized. Regulation of both the physical and the financial commodities markets is undergoing significant change and participants and their advisors are struggling to understand the changes in each jurisdiction as well as the cross-border implications.

The book pulls together these various pieces of EU legislation and examines how they influence the way that commodities are traded in Europe. It also provides coverage of regulation at domestic level in key jurisdictions active in the marketplace, namely the UK, USA, Switzerland, and Singapore. Divided into eight sections, the book includes analysis of the commodities trading houses (including their motives and methods), the main trading venues, trading practices, and potential illicit practices and market abuses. Each section has a detailed transnational component in which the position in each specific jurisdiction is explained, drawing parallels and setting out the differences between these countries.

This extremely topical publication is an essential reference work for all those advising on or researching the increasingly complex and globalized field of commodities trading.