The market is traditionally defined by speculators and hedgers.
A speculator is a trader who approaches the financial markets intending to profit from price changes in the market by either buying (going long) or selling (going short) a futures contract.
Speculators include individual traders, proprietary trading firms, portfolio managers, hedge funds, and market makers.
Speculators assume price risk and look for efficient market speculation.
A hedger (or producer) seeks to neutralize the effects of market changes and risk by buying or selling relevant futures contracts.
Hedgers are concerned about rising or falling commodity prices in their specific industries and are primarily focused on commodity futures products, although financial market participants can utilize futures to protect their investments as well.
Producers use the market to transfer risk by locking in prices for expected production well before it comes to the physical market.