Commodities & Energy

Crack Spreads: Understanding Refinery Margins and the 3-2-1 Formula

Crack spreads measure the difference between crude oil prices and refined product prices, serving as a proxy for refinery gross margins.

8 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model

Spark Spreads: Power Plant Economics and Generation Margins

The spark spread measures the gross margin for gas-fired power generation — the difference between electricity revenue and natural gas fuel cost.

10 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model

Peak vs Off-Peak Power: Contracts, LMP, and Trading Strategies

Learn how peak vs off-peak power pricing works in wholesale electricity markets. Covers 5×16 and 7×24 contracts, locational marginal pricing (LMP), congestion…

10 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model

Precious Metals Investing: Gold, Silver, Platinum as Portfolio Assets

Learn how to invest in precious metals including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Compare physical gold vs ETFs vs futures and understand the portfolio…

13 min readLevel: CoreVideo

Industrial Metals: Copper, Aluminum & Base Metals Markets

How industrial metals trade on the LME, warehouse dynamics, contango/backwardation, and portfolio applications.

8 min readLevel: Core

Agricultural Commodity Markets: Grains, Softs & Livestock

A comprehensive guide to agricultural commodity markets covering grains (corn, wheat, soybeans), soft commodities (coffee, sugar, cocoa, cotton), and livestock…

12 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model

Carbon Emissions Trading: Cap-and-Trade, EU ETS, and Carbon Markets

Comprehensive guide to carbon emissions trading covering cap-and-trade mechanics, the EU ETS, US carbon markets (RGGI and California), allowance allocation…

12 min readLevel: Core

Weather Derivatives: HDD, CDD & Temperature Risk Hedging

Learn how weather derivatives use heating and cooling degree days to hedge energy demand risk from temperature variability.

10 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model

Swing Contracts in Commodities: Take-or-Pay, Volume Flexibility and Valuation

Swing contracts embed volume flexibility in energy markets. Learn about take-or-pay provisions, gas storage optionality, and valuation methods.

10 min readLevel: Core

Commodity Futures: Pricing, Contango, Backwardation, and Seasonal Patterns From Options & Derivatives

Commodity futures are standardized exchange-traded contracts for buying or selling physical commodities at a predetermined price.

13 min readLevel: CoreVideo

Commodities as Portfolio Diversifiers: Inflation Hedge and Correlation Benefits From Alternative Investments

Learn why commodities improve portfolio diversification through inflation hedging, negative equity correlation, and roll yield — with evidence-based allocation…

12 min readLevel: CoreCalculatorExcel model