Market

Figure 1. Supply and demand interact in a market to create an equilibrium price and quantity of a good or service.

A market is a medium which facilitates the exchange of goods and services between buyers and sellers. A market can be physical or virtual and is defined by the different goods and services exchanged in it. For example, petroleum and petroleum products are exchanged on the oil market.

A market facilitates the transactions between two or more parties who exchange goods and services, most often: money, information, or anything of value to the selling party. The interaction of buyers and sellers in the market determines the supply and demand of the goods and services being exchanged (see Figure 1). Therefore, the price and quality of the goods is also determined.

There are many types of markets, they can big or small, local or global, general or specific, legal or illegal and a number of other variations. For example, within the commodity market there is an oil market where oil is bought and sold globally through a computer network (digital market). In comparison, gas stations represent physical markets, where the buyer will trade currency for gasoline at an established price.

Examples of Specific Markets:

• Oil Markets
• Commodity Markets
• Financial Markets
• Currency Markets
• Media Markets

For Further Reading

• Market economy
• Mixed economy
• Market failure
• Supply
• Demand
• Or explore a random page