Futures

In connection with the intolerable abundance of heterogeneous information, I collect all the most important and concisely state in three thousand signs.

Futures are a type of forward contract. A forward contract is an agreement to deliver goods in the future at an agreed price, concluded outside the exchange. The basic asset of a forward (forward) contract is both a physical commodity and a specific financial instrument. Futures is a futures exchange contract for the sale of the underlying asset, in which only the price level and delivery time is negotiated and which can be canceled by either party by paying cash compensation for the transaction in the futures market. The profit or loss of a trader is the difference in futures price when opening and closing a position.
Initially, futures were used by farmers to pre-set prices for their products. Transactions for the supply of a certain quantity of products at a certain price after harvest were concluded before the start of planting. This allowed farmers to avoid uncertainty and plan their costs optimally. Moreover, futures contracts could bring additional profits. But on the contrary, they could be unprofitable.
There are deliverable and non-deliverable (settlement) futures. The delivery futures obliges the buyer to purchase, and the seller to sell a certain amount of the underlying asset at a certain (estimated, fixed on the last trading date) price. Non-deliverable futures implies only a work between participants in a cash settlement agreement equal to the difference between the price of the contract and the actual price of the asset at the date of execution of the contract. The physical delivery of the underlying asset is not made.
In the modern futures market, there are contracts for agricultural products, stock indices, metals, currencies, oil, gas, gasoline, bonds, bills and even weather ...
One of the key concepts in the futures market is contract specification — an exchange-approved document that outlines the basic terms of a futures contract. The futures specification indicates the following conditions:
name of the contract;
provisional name of the contract;
type of contract;
contract size or unit of trade;
month of delivery;
date of delivery;
the first and last day of notice for physical delivery;
estimated delivery price;
the last day of trading;
trading hours;
minimum price change;
the cost of the minimum step;
factor;
restrictions;
delivery method;
way quotes prices.

The main futures exchanges are:
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NYMEX. New York Mercantile Exchange.
CME. Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
LIFFE. London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange.
NYFE. New York Futures Exchange.
SWOT. Chicago Board Of Trade.

Participants in futures trading are brokers, accounting firms and individuals. Each client can open deals both for purchase and for sale. If he opens two identical transactions - both for the purchase and for the sale - these contracts do not require execution. Such a deal is called offset.
Modern futures trading is carried out through the use of specialized trading terminals, such as Mtrade or Strategy Runner. Successful futures trading requires in-depth knowledge and experience, but is also one of the most profitable investment targets.