Quote from chief_editor on January 17, 2026, 7:58 am

In commodity and energy trading, forwarding information feels productive. Offers are shared, emails are relayed, documents circulate quickly. Activity creates the impression of progress.

But experienced market participants know a quiet truth:
forwarding everything has a cost — and it is usually hidden.

This cost is rarely measured in money upfront. It is paid later, in credibility, execution failure, and missed real opportunities.

Forwarding Feels Like Value, Until It Isn’t

Many intermediaries equate activity with usefulness. If an SCO arrives, it is forwarded. If a price update appears, it is shared. If a buyer asks, another message is sent.

At first, this feels efficient.
In practice, it creates noise rather than clarity.

Forwarding without filtering shifts responsibility away from judgment and toward volume. The intermediary becomes a conduit, not a contributor.

Noise Dilutes Signal

In real markets, good information is scarce.

When everything is forwarded:
credible offers mix with fake ones
serious buyers mix with talkers
real timelines mix with artificial urgency

Recipients stop distinguishing signal from noise. Over time, they stop reading altogether.

The tragedy is that when a real deal finally appears, it is treated like all the others — and ignored.

Reputation Is Spent, Not Earned, by Forwarding

Every forwarded deal carries implied endorsement.

Even when disclaimers are added, recipients assume some level of screening. When forwarded deals repeatedly fail, that assumption erodes.

The intermediary may not lose reputation in one moment, but it bleeds away quietly. Replies slow down. Introductions dry up. Access disappears.

Reputation is not lost by one bad deal.
It is lost by a pattern of unfiltered forwarding.

Forwarding Transfers Risk Downstream

By forwarding everything, intermediaries push risk onto others.

Buyers must re-verify sellers.
Sellers must re-qualify buyers.
Everyone duplicates effort.

Serious counterparties resent this inefficiency. They prefer working with intermediaries who reduce risk, not redistribute it.

In mature markets, reducing friction selectively is more valuable than increasing exposure indiscriminately.

Why Fake Deals Thrive on Forwarding

Fake or non-executable deals depend on forwarding.

They need reach without scrutiny.
They rely on repetition to appear legitimate.
They benefit when no one asks hard questions.

Forwarding everything creates the perfect environment for these deals to survive longer than they should.

Filtering kills fake deals quickly. Forwarding keeps them alive.

The Opportunity Cost No One Sees

The most expensive cost of forwarding everything is opportunity cost.

Time spent relaying weak offers is time not spent:
understanding a serious buyer’s needs
working through a complex structure
protecting a good seller’s reputation

Attention is finite. Every forwarded distraction consumes it.

Good intermediaries treat attention as capital. They invest it carefully.

Why Selective Silence Is a Strategy

Experienced intermediaries often appear quiet.

They do not forward daily.
They do not comment on every opportunity.
They choose when to speak.

This silence is not inactivity.
It is curation.

When they do forward something, it carries weight — precisely because they do not forward everything.

A Practical Rule of Thumb

If forwarding feels easy, be cautious.
If deciding not to forward feels uncomfortable, you are probably doing the right thing.

In commodity trade, restraint creates value faster than volume.

Final Insight

Forwarding everything feels like participation.
Filtering is contribution.

The intermediaries who last are not the loudest.
They are the ones whose messages still matter when they arrive.

Reference Note

This article reflects commonly observed practices in international commodity and energy trading. It is intended for industry insight and trade education purposes only.