A futures contract is a contract between two parties to exchange (buy or sell) a specific asset for a price agreed today with purchase occurring at a specified future date.
The parties to a futures contract are the seller and the buyer.
The buyer undertakes to buy the asset at the agreed price upon expiry of the contract.
The seller undertakes to sell the asset at the agreed price upon expiry of the contract.
Specifications of futures contracts are the underlying asset, quantity of underlying assets per contract, expiry date and pre-agreed price.
Clients cannot perform or get delivery of underlying commodity under futures contracts settled by actual physical delivery of underlying commodity (physical delivery futures). For compulsory position closing rules click here.