Glossary

Exchange

See Also:

Buyer: Buyer is a market participant (trader/investor) who takes a long futures position or buys an option. An option buyer is also called a taker, holder, or owner.

Contract: Contract is a term of reference describing a unit of trading for a commodity future or option. At the same time contract is an agreement to buy or sell a specified commodity, detailing the amount and grade of the product and the date on which the contract will mature and become deliverable.

Contract Market: Contract Market (also referred to as an Exchange) is a board of trade designated by the CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) to trade futures or options contracts on a particular commodity. Commonly used to mean any exchange on which futures are traded. A contract market can allow both institutional and retail participants and can list for trading futures contracts on any commodity, provided that each contract is not readily susceptible to manipulation. Contract Market is also called designated contract market.

Derivative: A financial instrument, traded on or off an exchange, the price of which is directly dependent upon the value of one or more underlying securities, equity indices, debt instruments, commodities, other derivative instruments, or any agreed upon pricing index or arrangement. Derivatives involve the trading of rights or obligations based on the underlying product but do not directly transfer that product. Derivatives are generally used to hedge risk or to exchange a floating rate of return for fixed rate of return. Derivatives include futures, options, and swaps. For example, futures contracts are derivatives of the physical contract and options on futures are derivatives of futures contracts.

Futures: Futures (also called Futures Contract) is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell a commodity or financial instrument at a later date. Futures contracts are normally standardized according to the quality, quantity, delivery time and location for each commodity, with price as the only variable.

Option: Option is a contract that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specified quantity of a commodity or other instrument at a specific price within a specified period of time, regardless of the market price of that instrument. There are two types of options: Put Options and Call Options.

Rules: Rules are the principles, standards and requirements for governing an exchange. In some exchanges, rules are adopted by a vote of the membership, while in others, they can be imposed by the governing board.

Transaction: Transaction is an entry or liquidation of a trade.

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