A legally binding agreement, made on the trading floor of a futures exchange, to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument sometime in the future. Futures contracts are standardized according to the quality, quantity, and delivery time and location for each commodity. The only variable is price, which is discovered on an exchange trading floor. Chicago Board of Trade glossary
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A standardized and binding agreement to buy or sell a predetermined quantity and quality of a specified commodity at a future date. Standardization of the contracts enhances their transferability. Futures contracts can be traded only by auction on exchanges registered with the CFTC. The CENTER ONLINE Futures Glossary
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A legally binding agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument in a designated future month at a price agreed upon today by the buyer and seller. Futures contracts are standardized according to the quality, quantity, and delivery time and location for each commodity. A futures contract differs from an option because an option is the right to buy or sell, while a futures contract is the promise to actually make a transaction. A future is part of a class of securities called derivatives , so named because such securities derive their value from the worth of an underlying investment. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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An obligation to deliver or to receive a specified quantity and grade of a commodity during a designated month at the designated price. Each futures contract is standardized and specifies commodity, quality, quantity, delivery date and settlement. Chicago Mercantile Exchange Glossary
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A contract traded on a futures exchange which requires the delivery of a specified quality and quantity of a commodity, currency or financial instrument in a specified future month, if not liquidated before the contract matures. Exchange Handbook Glossary
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An agreement ( obligation) to buy or sell a given quantity of a particular asset, at a specified future date, at a pre-agreed price. Futures contracts have standard delivery dates, trading units, terms and conditions. LIFFE
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Financial product through which a buyer and seller undertake to exchange a particular quantity of a commodity or financial instruments at an agreed price on a stipulated future date. Also known as a future. NYSE Euronext Glossary
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futures contract UK US noun [C] FINANCE, STOCK MARKET
Financial and business terms. 2012.