Welcome to Futures Contracts, the online center for futures, options and commodity trading of raw materials and natural resources. Raw Material Commodities are finite natural resources and consist of Wheat, Lean Hogs, Maize, Paper, Azuki Beans, Palladium, Uranium, Titanium, Tungsten, Mercury, Magnesium, Manganese, Sunflower Seeds, Chromium, Tea, Corn, Sugar, Copper, Cocoa, Heating Oil, Platinum, Live Cattle, Feeder Cattle, Diesel, Nickel, Unleaded Gas, Tin, Natural Gas, Wool, Cotton, Rubber, Soybeans, Lumber, Barley, Canola, Coffee, Orange Juice, Zinc, Oats, Palladium, Rice, Soybean Meal, Crude Oil, Lead, Gold, Silver, Coal, Steel, Iron, Palmoil, Soybean Oil, and Flaxseed.

Commodity investment for speculation or hedging is one of today's most lucrative investments, and typically consists of buying and selling commodity futures, commodity options, natural resource funds or commodity indexes. Raw Material Commodities are experiencing an unprecedented bull market run which is expected to continue beyond the next decade. Global economic growth is eroding raw materials inventories faster than supplies can be replenished. The increased demand from China, India and the Far East, combined with limited and finite supplies for commodities continue to create big gains in commodity prices.

When compared to the stock investment, the index of commodity futures for the last 50 years has consistently outperformed the S&P 500 while offering lower volatility. Investing in commodities also reduces investment portfolio risk, and provides a good hedge against inflation.

A futures contract is a standardized contract, traded on a futures exchange, to buy or sell a certain underlying instrument at a certain date in the future, at a set price specified on the last trading date. The future date is called the delivery date or final settlement date. The set price is called the delivery price or settlement price.

A futures contract gives the holder the right and the obligation to buy or sell. Contrast this with an options contract, which gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, and the writer (seller) the obligation, but not the right. In other words, an option buyer can choose not to exercise when it would be uneconomical for him. The holder of a futures
contract and the writer of an option, do not have a choice. To exit the commitment, the holder of a futures position has to sell his long position or buy back his short position, effectively closing the position. Futures contracts, or simply futures, are exchange traded derivatives. The exchange acts as counterparty on all contracts, sets margin requirements, etc.