• Futures are derivative financial contracts that oblige a buyer to purchase an asset or a seller to sell an asset on a predetermined date in the future and at a set price.

  • A futures contract allows an investor to speculate on the price of a financial instrument or commodity.
  • Futures are used to hedge the price movement of the underlying asset to help prevent losses from adverse price changes.
  • When you are hedging, you are in the opposite position to the one you are holding in the underlying asset; if you lose money on the underlying asset, the money you make on the futures contract can mitigate that loss.
  • Futures contracts are traded on the futures exchange and the price of the contract is set after the end of each trading session.