The Financialisation of Agricultural Commodity Futures Trading and its Impact on the 2006-2008 Global Food Crisis

The subject of this article is whether the financialisation of agricultural commodity futures trading contributed to the sudden price rises in 2006-2008. It also discusses the effect of financialisation on the functioning and usefulness of futures markets, and considers whether speculation could exacerbate price volatility again. The article is not intended to be an overly technical analysis of the topic and therefore does not include detailed economic analyses or econometric modelling. Rather, it seeks to provide an objective and straightforward discussion for those generally interested in agricultural commodity markets and their impact on food security and developing countries more generally