Commodity Futures

Commodity Futures Contract

An agreement to buy and sell a commodity at a certain date at a certain price. For example, Investor A may make a contract with Farmer B in which A agrees to buy a certain number of bushels of B's corn at $15 per bushel. This contract must be honored whether the priceof corn goes to $1 or $100 per bushel. Commodity futures contracts can help reduce volatility in the normally volatile commodity markets, but contain the risks inherent to all speculative investing. These contracts may be sold on the secondary market, but the person holding the contract at its end must take delivery of the underlying. See also: Carrying charge, Options contract.

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Commodity Futures

Contracts to buy or sell a fixed amount of a commodity (wheat or soy beans, for example) for a fixed price at a future date.