What are futures Contract ( Futures )?
A contract that obligates the buyer to buy a specific asset (currencies, goods, metals, etc.….) at a future date called (settlement date) and at a predetermined price. The futures contracts specify in detail the quality and quantity of the underlying assets that were contracted, such as basic commodities or financial instruments. The contracts are used to protect from fluctuations in asset prices or to speculate and gain from these fluctuations. As futures contracts are calculated on a daily basis, investors can get out of their commitment and buy or sell the asset before the delivery date by closing the position just as it is in Forex markets. The prices of futures contracts are determined only when the contract is signed, and the asset is exchanged on the delivery date, which is usually in the distant future. However, most of the participants in the futures markets are speculators who close their positions before the settlement date, so the contracts do not tend to last until the delivery date.
The Difference Between Current ( Spot ) Rate and Future Rate
The main difference between spot and futures rate is that a spot rate is a rate of a financial instrument at the current moment and it is for immediate purchase or sell ,while a future rate is the rate of a financial instrument in the future based on an agreement on a predetermined date in the future. Current (spot) rate and future rate difference The spot exchange rate is that the price required to sell one currency for another currency. If the investor or hedger trade with the currency spot rate, the exchange of the currency pair will take place at the point where the trade happened but the futures rate is the sum of currency exchange price and the risk rate and the interest price rate in the traded markets. Every year, the international financial organizations determine the futures contract prices to be calculated monthly. This means traders can buy and sell within a specified future price. This will save countries and institutions hedging from the strong price volatility in along with the volume spent to buy a specific asset.