FX, Rates, Credit and Commodity Trader Roles

FX, Rates, Credit and Commodity Traders

What FX, rates, credit and commodity traders do at banks, funds and trading houses: their markets, daily drivers, skills and how these macro trading roles differ.

Intermediate3 min readUpdated 3 Oct 2026

Lesson 32 of 44

Beyond equities, a large share of the world's trading happens in foreign exchange, interest rates, credit and commodities, the markets banks group as FICC. Traders in these areas deal in currencies, government bonds, swaps, corporate bonds, credit derivatives, oil, metals and agricultural products. Their days are driven by central banks, economic data, geopolitics and physical supply and demand. The roles exist at banks, hedge funds, asset managers, commodity trading houses and producers that hedge their output.

The four areas#

Area	Main instruments	Key drivers	Lesson
FX	Spot, forwards, swaps, options, NDFs	Interest rate differentials, central banks, trade and capital flows	Forex Trading
Rates	Government bonds, interest rate swaps, futures, options	Central bank policy, inflation, growth, supply of debt	Bond Trading
Credit	Corporate bonds, credit default swaps, credit indices	Default risk, earnings, spreads, ratings	Credit Spreads
Commodities	Futures, swaps, physical cargoes	Supply, demand, inventories, weather, geopolitics	Commodities Trading

Daily drivers#

Area	What moves it
FX	Rate decisions, inflation data, risk sentiment, intervention. See Central Bank Intervention
Rates	Fed and ECB meetings, payrolls, CPI, Treasury auctions. See The Federal Reserve and the FOMC
Credit	Earnings, defaults, new issuance, risk appetite
Commodities	Inventory reports, OPEC decisions, weather, shipping. See Storage and Inventories

Roles within each area#

Role	Description
Flow trader (market maker)	Prices client trades and manages inventory at a bank
Proprietary or hedge fund trader	Takes directional or relative value positions
Physical commodity trader	Buys, stores, transports and sells real commodities at trading houses
Hedger	Manages price risk for a company, such as an airline hedging fuel
Structurer	Designs custom products for clients

Skills needed#

Macroeconomic understanding: how policy, growth and inflation interact. See Macro Trading.
Product knowledge: forwards, swaps, futures, options and their quirks. See Swaps Explained.
Quantitative skills: yield curves, duration, carry and volatility. See Yield Curves and Carry Trading.
Speed and composure around data releases and news.
For physical commodities: logistics, storage and contracts. See Physical Delivery vs Cash Settlement.

How these markets differ from equities#

Feature	FX, rates, credit, commodities	Equities
Trading venue	Much over the counter, increasingly electronic	Mostly exchanges
Typical trade size	Very large notional amounts	Smaller per trade
Leverage	Often high	Lower
Main participants	Banks, central banks, funds, corporations	Funds, retail, market makers

See OTC Markets.

Getting in#

Graduate programs at banks commonly rotate through FICC desks. Commodity trading houses and energy companies hire analysts and traders with engineering, economics or logistics backgrounds. Hedge funds hire experienced traders with track records. See Trading Careers Explained.

Frequently asked questions#

What does an FX trader do?#

Trades currencies through spot, forwards, swaps and options, either making markets for clients or taking positions, driven by rates, central banks and flows.

What is a rates trader?#

A trader of interest rate products such as government bonds, futures and swaps, whose positions respond to central bank policy and economic data.

What do commodity traders do?#

Trade commodity futures and swaps, and at trading houses also buy, store, transport and sell physical commodities.

Next, learn about the people who watch the risk in Risk Analyst.

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Next lessonRisk AnalystRisk analysts measure, report and control market, credit and operational risk at trading firms. Learn the daily work, key tools, skills and the risk career path.