Trading Commodities – Notes
Like most things in investment banks, some companies buy ETRM systems (OLF Endur, TriplePoint Tempest, Quorum CLIQS etc) and some build them.
Commodities are physical assets such as precious metals, base metals, energy stores (such as natural gas or crude oil) and food (including wheat, pork bellies, cattle, etc.). Commodities have physical attributes (storage and transport costs) that influence pricing. For certain commodities traders also take into account weather maps, and geographical influences on the commodity that can effect quality/price. Commodity trading normally occurs via Future/Options and OTC derivatives.
I run the Trading and Risk Management practice for UtiliPoint International, an analyst company specializing in the energy industry.
I thought you might be interested in the list of approximately 70 ETRM vendors that we maintain. Is is here: http://etrmcommunity.com/site/modules/about-2/index.php?id=3
I also maintain a blog on the same site here if you are interested in daily happenings in the energy trading space. http://etrmcommunity.com/site/modules/wordpress/?style=w