In reference to the market for natural resources or commodities, the raw material market is where you can negotiate future contracts between several parties, where the underlying asset being negotiated is a raw material or a commodity.

The aim is to:

• Try to carry out a hedged transaction: a person or entity has or will have an underlying asset (commodity) in the future and will want therefore making a future contract so as to establish the price of the asset. This is a way of making an uncertain cost more controllable, providing a higher degree certainty and less risk in the operation.
• Try to make a speculative transaction: the person or entity that makes the future contract is seeking to get a return out of this operation based on the evolution of the underlying asset´s price (raw material or commodity).