Futures Market Exchanges And Futures Contracts

Here are the basics of futures contracts. When you are the seller of the contract you agree that you will supply the buyer a specfic amount of the item, it could be a physical commodity such as live cattle, coal or gas, or a financial instrument such as an index. The key point is that the price is set now but the item is delivered at a future date.

The important point to remember when trying to trade futures for a profit is that it is the current price that is being traded and not the settlement price, which is at the future date. This means we want to be buyers of the contract if we think that the price will increase, and sellers of the contract if it looks like it is going down.

Futures contracts are regulated by a number of large exchanges such as the the CBOT and the LIFFE. When you either buy or sell a contract most traders do not hold it until the settlement date, but usually will close the contract for a profit when the market moves in their favor.

Futures were originally developed to help offset the risks and uncertainties experienced by farmers and merchants due to the fluctuating supply and demand for produce. Take for example a coffee plantation farmer. The price that he will receive for his beans will vary according to the vagaries of supply and demand. In a year when supplies are limited and demand is high, prices will be high. In a year when demand falls and the supply is plentiful, the price will fall.

The use of futures in the farming industry has many benefits such as allowing the farmer to be able to plan ahead as he already knows what kind of profit he can expect from his crop of say coffee beans. The price may not be the best and the merchant may make a killing but the risk is reduced.

It makes sense for the farmer and the merchant to get together early in the season and agree the price to be paid for the produce at harvest time. This way the farmer can plan his expenses and the merchant can set his prices. In effect they are negotiating a type of futures contract, which provides them a way of eliminating the risk they face due to the uncertain future price of coffee beans.

The type of futures contract that you are trading is usually determined by the underlying asset, which could be either commodity based or financial based, such as stocks or bonds. This is a big change from the origins in the farming market.

It is important that both the quality and quantity of the produce in the contracts is regulated carefully, this is why the CBOT was founded in 1848. They now regulate many items which are as diverse as silver, corn and bonds

The CME was started in 1919, it’s main purpose was to enable a futures market in such items as pork bellies and live cattle. Today it also regulates the S&P500 stock index which is a very popular index for traders, including day traders.

Another large futures exchange is the London International Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) which started in 1982. It has grown very fast since then and financial products like the FTSE100, the GILT and Short Sterling trade on that exchange.

In Germany the EUREX is a big exchange and is 100% electronic, it started out as the DTB in 1990 before electronic systems became popular, at the time open outcry pits systems were still in use by many exchanges.

One of the biggest futures markets in the world was the German Bund, which, during the first half of the 90’s, was the biggest contract traded on LIFFE. The Bund pit on the floor of LIFFE was the biggest and the most active, it was the heart of the trading floor. The Bund was also traded on the DTB, but in much smaller quantities.

Many markets in futures have very high volumes and hence very good liquidity, these are attractive markets for traders. The high leverage means that profits can be made very fast when the market moves, however money can also be lost very fast. If you are even thinking of trading futures make sure that you learn as much as you can before using real money.

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