Specialty Futures
Gold-futures contract mechanics and managed-futures strategy terms.
Futures, forwards, delivery, contango, futures options, index futures, financial futures, and forward-pricing terms.
Futures, Forwards, and Contracts is the financial-instruments landing page for futures contracts, forward contracts, index futures, rate futures, currency futures, commodity futures, delivery, carry, contango, roll yield, and forward pricing. It keeps related terms in one branch so readers can move from a broad instrument question to the article that owns the contract evidence.
Use this page when a futures or forward contract changes future delivery, settlement, hedge exposure, or pricing basis. Use the parent Derivatives page when you need the broader instrument map. For an individual decision, confirm the contract, term sheet, prospectus, confirmation, exchange specification, or disclosure record before relying on the term.
Use the table below to choose the branch that matches the instrument type, payoff feature, settlement term, or risk exposure being reviewed.
| Branch | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Commodity, Managed, and Specialty Futures | Gold-futures contract mechanics and professionally managed long-and-short futures strategies. |
| Financial, Index, and Rate Futures | Bond futures, currency futures, index futures, interest-rate futures, stock-index futures, and VIX futures terms. |
| Forward Contracts, Rates, and FX Hedges | Bilateral forward contracts, forward exchange rates, rate agreements, and FX hedging terms. |
| Futures Contracts and Exchange-Traded Futures | Financial future, futures contract, futures chain, futures option, futures transaction, E-mini futures, and underlying futures contract terms. |
| Futures Pricing, Carry, and Delivery | Contango, cost of carry, roll forward, roll yield, spot price, and taking-delivery terms. |
Use Forward Contract when the agreement is privately negotiated for a future transaction or cash settlement. Use Futures Contract when the exposure is a standardized exchange-traded contract commonly supported by central clearing and daily margin.
A business expecting to buy a commodity can use either structure to reduce price uncertainty. The better analytical fit depends on contract size, date, grade, location, liquidity, collateral, counterparty, and settlement requirements, not only on the price view.
Futures & Forwards content is educational and does not provide personalized investment, tax, legal, accounting, valuation, derivatives, or securities advice.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
Gold-futures contract mechanics and managed-futures strategy terms.
Financial futures organized by equity index, interest rate, bond, currency, and volatility exposure, with contract-specific risk distinctions.
Forward contracts and rates used to fix future prices, interest settlements, or currency conversions outside standardized futures markets.
Core futures-contract mechanics, margin, settlement, options on futures, contract chains, and smaller exchange-traded contract formats.
Contango, cost of carry, roll forward, roll yield, spot price, and taking-delivery terms.