Futures contract

A futures contract is a standardised agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a set future date, traded on a designated contract market and cleared centrally.

instruments and markets · updated 2026-11-06

See also

• Commodity — A commodity, in US law, is far broader than a physical good: the Commodity Exchange Act's definition reaches most things underlyin…
• Delivery month — The delivery month is the period in which a futures contract requires physical delivery or final settlement. Manipulation risk con…
• Open interest — Open interest is the number of derivative contracts outstanding and not yet closed or delivered. Open interest that is large relat…

Terms that refer here

Basis · Cash market · Commodity · Contract for difference · Designated contract market · Open interest · Spot market

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