Editing Futures contract (section)

==Futures contracts and exchanges==

===Contract===

There are many different kinds of futures contracts, reflecting the many different kinds of "tradable" assets about which the contract may be based such as commodities, securities (such as [[single-stock futures]]), currencies or intangibles such as interest rates and indexes. For information on futures markets in specific underlying [[commodity markets]], follow the links. For a list of tradable commodities futures contracts, see [[List of traded commodities]]. See also the [[futures exchange]] article.
* [[Foreign exchange market]] – see [[Currency future]]
* [[Money market]] – see [[Interest rate future]]
* [[Bond market]] – see [[Interest rate future]]
* [[Equity derivative#Equity futures, options and swaps|Equity market]] – see [[Stock market index future]] and [[Single-stock futures]]
* [[Commodity market]]
* [[Cryptocurrency|Cryptocurrencies]] – see [[Perpetual futures]]

Trading on [[commodity|commodities]] began in Japan in the 18th century with the trading of rice and silk, and similarly in Holland with tulip bulbs. Trading in the US began in the mid 19th century when central grain markets were established and a marketplace was created for farmers to bring their commodities and sell them either for immediate delivery (also called spot or cash market) or for forward delivery. These forward contracts were private contracts between buyers and sellers and became the forerunner to today's exchange-traded futures contracts. Although contract trading began with traditional commodities such as grains, meat, and livestock, exchange trading has expanded to include metals, energy, currency and currency indexes, equities and equity indexes, government interest rates, and private interest rates.

===Exchanges===

Contracts on financial instruments were introduced in the 1970s by the [[Chicago Mercantile Exchange]] (CME) and these instruments became hugely successful and quickly overtook commodities futures in terms of trading volume and global accessibility to the markets. This innovation led to the introduction of many new futures exchanges worldwide, such as the [[London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange|London International Financial Futures Exchange]] in 1982 (now Euronext. liffe), Deutsche Terminbörse (now [[Eurex]]) and the [[Tokyo Commodity Exchange]] (TOCOM). Today, there are more than 90 futures and futures options exchanges worldwide trading to include:
* [[CME Group]] (CBOT and CME) – Currencies, Various Interest Rate derivatives (including US Bonds); Agriculture (Corn, Soybeans, Soy Products, Wheat, Pork, Cattle, Butter, Milk); Indices ([[Dow Jones Industrial Average]], [[NASDAQ Composite]], [[S&P 500]], etc.); Metals (Gold, Silver).  [[New York Mercantile Exchange|NYMEX]] (CME Group) – energy and metals: [[crude oil]], [[gasoline]], [[heating oil]], [[natural gas]], [[coal]], [[propane]], [[Gold as an investment|gold]], [[Silver as an investment|silver]], [[Platinum as an investment|platinum]], [[copper]], [[aluminum]] and [[Palladium as an investment|palladium]].
* [[Dubai Mercantile Exchange]] (DME) – most notably [[DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract|Oman Crude]], Dubai Platts, and Singapore Fuel Oil.
* [[Intercontinental Exchange]] (ICE Futures Europe) – formerly the [[International Petroleum Exchange]] trades energy including [[crude oil]], heating oil, gas oil (diesel), refined petroleum products, electric power, coal, [[natural gas]], and emissions
* [[NYSE Euronext]] – which absorbed [[Euronext]] into which [[London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange]] or [[LIFFE]] (pronounced 'LIFE') was merged. (LIFFE had taken over London Commodities Exchange ("LCE") in 1996)- softs: grains and meats. Inactive market in [[Baltic Exchange]] shipping. Index futures include [[EURIBOR]], [[FTSE 100]], [[CAC 40]], [[AEX index]].
* [[Eurex]] – part of [[Deutsche Börse]], also operates the SOFFEX | Swiss Options and Financial Futures Exchange (SOFFEX) and the [[European Energy Exchange|European Energy Exchange (EEX)]]
* [[South African Futures Exchange – SAFEX]]
* [[Sydney Futures Exchange]]
* [[Tokyo Commodity Exchange]] TOCOM
* [[Tokyo Financial Exchange]] – TFX – (Euroyen Futures, OverNight CallRate Futures, SpotNext RepoRate Futures)
* [[Osaka Exchange]] OSE (JGB Futures, TOPIX Futures, Nikkei Futures, RNP Futures)
* [[London Metal Exchange]] – metals: [[copper]], [[aluminium]], [[lead]], [[zinc]], [[nickel]], [[tin]] and steel
* [[Intercontinental Exchange]] (ICE Futures U.S.) – formerly New York Board of Trade – softs: [[Cocoa bean|cocoa]], [[coffee]], [[cotton]], [[orange juice]], [[sugar]]
* JFX Jakarta Futures Exchange
* [[Montreal Exchange]] (MX) (owned by the [[TMX Group]]) also known in French as Bourse De Montreal: Interest Rate and Cash Derivatives: Canadian 90 Days [[Bankers' Acceptance]] Futures, Canadian [[government bond]] futures,  [[S&P/TSX 60]] Index Futures, and various other Index Futures
* [[Korea Exchange]] – KRX
* [[Singapore Exchange]] – SGX – into which merged [[Singapore International Monetary Exchange]] (SIMEX)
* [[ROFEX]] – Rosario (Argentina) Futures Exchange
* [[NCDEX]] – National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange, India
* [[National Stock Exchange of India]] – National Stock Exchange, India – the largest derivates exchange in terms of number of contracts<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.nseindia.com/global/content/media/archives/NSE_No_1.pdf |access-date=2 May 2023|website=nseindia.com|title=NSE}}</ref>
* EverMarkets Exchange (EMX) – slated for launch in late 2018 – global [[currencies]], [[equities]], [[commodities]] and [[cryptocurrencies]]
* FEX Global – Financial and Energy Exchange of Australia
* [[Dalian Commodity Exchange]] (DCE) – primarily agricultural and industrial products
* [[Shanghai Futures Exchange]] (SHFE) – primarily serves metal and foodstuff commodity markets
* [[Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange]] (ZCE) – primarily agricultural products and petrochemicals
* [[China Financial Futures Exchange]] (CFFEX) – primarily index futures and currencies

===Codes===
Most futures contract codes are five characters. The first two characters identify the contract type, the third character identifies the month and the last two characters identify the year.

On [[CME Group]] markets, third (month) futures contract codes are:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cmegroup.com/product-codes-listing/month-codes.html |title=Month Codes |publisher=CME Group |access-date=2015-11-09}}</ref> Contracts expire after the listing month. Therefore traders must roll over their positions into the next month code.
* January = F
* February = G
* March = H
* April = J
* May = K
* June = M
* July = N
* August = Q
* September = U
* October = V
* November = X
* December = Z
Example: CLX14 is a Crude Oil (CL), November (X) 2014 (14) contract.