Emini Futures Energy Futures Grain Futures Currencies Futures Metal Futures Financial Futures Soft Futures Livestock
CME - NYMEX - COMEX - CBOT - ICE Commodity Markets and Futures Markets
What Are CME, NYMEX, COMEX, CBOT, ICE Commodity Markets and Futures Markets?
In the United States, trading futures began in the mid-19th century with the establishment of central grain markets where farmers could sell their products either for immediate delivery, also called the spot or cash market, or for forward delivery. These forward contracts were private contracts between buyers and sellers and became the forerunner of today’s exchange-traded futures contracts. Both forward contracts and futures contracts are legal agreements to buy or sell an asset on a specific date or during a specific month. Where forward contracts are negotiated directly between a buyer and a seller and settlement terms may vary from contract to contract, a futures contract is facilitated through a futures exchange and is standardized according to quality, quantity, delivery time and place. The only remaining variable is price, which is discovered through an auction-like process that occurs on the Exchange trading floor or via CME Globex, CME Group’s electronic trading platform. Although trading began with floor trading of traditional agricultural commodities such as grains and livestock, exchange-traded futures have expanded to include metals, energy, currencies, equity indexes and interest rate products, all of which are traded electronically.
Understanding the Benefits of Futures
Course Overview
Curious about what futures can bring to your portfolio? Discover 8 advantages you can enjoy from day one when you insert futures into your trading strategy in this easy-to-complete, multi-part online course.
Learn how to instantly enhance your diversification opportunities and access with more hours to trade, in deeply liquid markets with fewer day trading restrictions than equity markets. Learn how to harness the power of leverage to expand your investment’s reach, enabling you to control a large notional value with a relatively small amount of capital. Free up capital for other uses with lower margin requirements and enjoy flexibility and ease for entering and exiting the markets when you need to, without worrying about inflated costs. Get started today.