Glossary

Exchange for Physicals

See Also:

Exchange: A central marketplace with established rules and regulations where buyers and sellers meet to trade futures and options contracts or securities. Exchanges include designated contract markets and derivatives transaction execution facilities.

Actuals: Actuals is the physical or cash commodity, as distinguished from a futures contract.

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.

Call: There are three meaning of the "Call" term. It could be:
1) An option contract giving the buyer the right but not the obligation to purchase a commodity or other asset or to enter into a long futures position;
2) a period at the opening and the close of some futures markets in which the price for each futures contract is established by auction;
3) the requirement that a financial instrument be returned to the issuer prior to maturity, with principal and accrued interest paid off upon return.

Called: Called is another term for exercised when an option is a call. In the case of an option on a physical, the writer of a call must deliver the indicated underlying commodity when the option is exercised or called. In the case of an option on a futures contract, a futures position will be created that will require margin, unless the writer of the call has an offsetting position.

Cash Commodity: Cash Commodity (also referred to as Actuals.) is the actual physical commodity as distinguished from the futures contract based on the physical commodity. Cash Commodity sometimes called spot commodity

Close: Close is the exchange-designated period at the end of the trading session during which all transactions are considered made "at the close."

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.

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.

Futures Contract: Futures Contract is an agreement to purchase or sell a commodity for delivery in the future: (1) at a price that is determined at initiation of the contract; (2) that obligates each party to the contract to fulfill the contract at the specified price; (3) that is used to assume or shift price risk; and (4) that may be satisfied by delivery or offset.

Long: Long Futures trader is a trader who has bought futures contracts or options on futures contracts or owns a cash commodity. Long position (long trading) is opposite to Short position (Short trading).

Par: Par refers to the standard delivery point(s) and/or quality of a commodity that is deliverable on a futures contract at contract price. Serves as a benchmark upon which to base discounts or premiums for varying quality and delivery locations. Par in bond markets refers to an index (usually 100) representing the face value of a bond.

Pit: Pit (also referred to as a ring) is the area on the trading floor where trading in futures or options contracts is conducted by open outcry. It is a specially constructed area on the trading floor of some exchanges where trading in a futures contract or option is conducted. On other exchanges, the term ring designates the trading area for commodity contract.

Short: Short (shorting) is the selling side of an open futures contract.

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

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