According to a report by Jintou.com on September 6, if you think the silver market is the second-largest global market after the gold market, you’re mistaken! The silver market is just one player in the commodities market—indeed, the oil market, the true heavyweight in the commodities arena, is far larger in scale.

In the European and U.S. markets, crude oil futures boast extremely high trading volumes and are essentially the “aircraft carrier” of the commodity futures market—far surpassing the silver market in terms of market size. They are also the most frequently traded commodity futures contract among foreign investors. During periods of stability, the crude oil market’s stability is no less impressive than that of the gold market; however, during times of volatility, the crude oil market exhibits greater price swings and wider potential for unidirectional profits compared to the silver market.

Although as early as the days when the gold market was booming in China, many domestic investors recognized the superior investment potential of the related crude oil market, unfortunately, there were no official channels for investing in crude oil within China at the time.

Over the past two years, domestic crude oil exchanges have gradually begun to take shape, officially launching in the second half of last year (2014). Represented by the Beijing Oil Exchange and the Shenzhen Oil Exchange, these exchanges generated trading volumes exceeding 500 billion yuan within just six months! This figure is more than double the total volume recorded during the first two years of the silver market’s rise, reflecting the strong appetite of China’s seasoned investors for the crude oil market.

The gold, silver, and crude oil markets are highly interconnected, so whether you’re conducting fundamental analysis or technical analysis, the analytical approaches used in these three markets are almost universally applicable. Therefore, if you’re one of the many silver investors and decide to shift your focus to the crude oil market—a market with greater profit potential—you’ll find the transition remarkably smooth. Aside from acquiring some new relevant knowledge, you won’t encounter any obstacles at all.

You can directly analyze the crude oil market using the fundamental analysis methods you’ve developed for the gold and silver markets—there’s absolutely no problem with that. And once you’ve gained some experience, you’ll find that the factors influencing crude oil are even simpler and more straightforward, which will bring significant benefits to your investment trading.

Silver and crude oil are the only domestic international market products in which investors can participate extensively. Moreover, their complementary characteristics—high volatility paired with relative stability—make them an excellent combination for investment portfolios.

Therefore, it can be confidently asserted: crude oil and silver will be the two most profitable commodities of the 21st century!