(1) trading entity. In forex futures trading, as long as the deposit is paid in accordance with the regulations, any investor can engage in transactions through foreign exchange commission agents. In forward foreign exchange transactions, most participants are professional securities dealers or big manufacturers with good business relations with banks. It is extremely difficult for individual investors and small and medium-sized enterprises who have not obtained credit lines from banks to have the opportunity to participate in forward foreign exchange transactions.

(2) Trading margin. Both parties in forex futures trading must pay the deposit, and conduct daily liquidation through the futures exchange, calculate the profit and loss on a daily basis, make up the difference or return the excess deposit. Forward foreign exchange transactions depend on whether the relationship between banks and customers pays a deposit, and usually no deposit is required. The profit and loss of forward foreign exchange transactions will not be settled until the expiration date of the contract.

(3) transaction method. Forex futures trading conducts the futures exchange in the form of open bidding. The two parties to the transaction are not in contact with each other, but each uses the clearing house to settle the middleman and bear the credit risk. Futures contracts have restrictions on the variety of trading currencies, delivery dates, trading units and price changes. Currency is limited to several major currencies. Forward foreign exchange transactions are over-the-counter transactions. Transactions are conducted by the buyers and sellers as rivals by telephone or fax, and there are no monetary restrictions. The transaction amount and maturity date are freely determined by the buyer and the seller.

(4) overall transaction. In forex futures trading, the local currency is usually used as an intermediary for buying and selling foreign exchange. For example, in the American market, it is only quoted in US dollars. Therefore, hedging between currencies other than the US dollar, such as the euro and the Japanese yen, can only be bought and sold in the US dollar, forming two transactions. In forward foreign exchange transactions, different currencies can be traded directly.

(5) Settlement method. In forex futures trading, the clearing house is the transaction intermediary, and the amount and term are agreed. Therefore, spot delivery is not implemented. For the unsettled amount, it shall be calculated on a daily basis and settled through the increase or decrease of the deposit. Although the delivery date is indicated in the futures contract, it can be transferred before this delivery date, and hedging can be carried out to reduce and spread the exchange rate risk. The price difference on the delivery date should be settled by spot price difference, which accounts for a small proportion. In forward foreign exchange transactions, spot settlement or performance should be made on the delivery date. The relationship between foreign exchange futures and foreign exchange forward;

1, forex futures trading and foreign exchange forward are both part of the foreign exchange market;

2. forex futures trading and foreign exchange forward transactions have the same object, both of which are foreign exchange;

3. The principle of forex futures trading and foreign exchange forward trading is the same;

4. The role of forex futures trading is the same as that of foreign exchange forward trading. The main body of these two kinds of transactions is to prevent and transfer exchange rate risks, so as to achieve the purpose of maintaining value and speculating profits;

5. forex futures trading and foreign exchange forward transactions agree to settle a certain amount of foreign exchange in a certain future time and under certain conditions;

6. Both forex futures trading and foreign exchange forward transactions originated from international trade, which provided conditions for preventing exchange rate risks. The exchange rate is the exchange rate between one country's currency and other countries' currencies in the foreign exchange market, and it is the standard to measure the prices of the two countries' currencies. Purchasing power parity is the ratio of comprehensive prices between countries, that is, the price ratio of two currencies when they buy the same quantity and quality of goods and services in different countries, which measures the price level between countries. According to the purchasing power parity theory put forward by Swedish economist gustav cassel in the early 20th century, it is believed that in a completely open, completely traded and completely effective world economy, the exchange rate is an unbiased estimator of purchasing power parity, that is, the exchange rate changes converge to purchasing power parity. Therefore, purchasing power parity, as a balanced exchange rate, is the basis for evaluating whether exchange rate fluctuations are normal. However, in the real economy, due to the existence of a large number of nontradable goods in various countries, the conditions of market economy are also very different, and the premise of meeting the purchasing power parity theory is not established, and the two show different trends. Specifically, their coverage and decisive factors are different.

First, in terms of scope, purchasing power parity includes the price comparison of all goods and services in GDP among countries, while the exchange rate only reflects the price ratio of tradable goods among countries, and does not reflect the price comparison of construction products and various services in nontradable goods among countries.

Second, in terms of determining factors, purchasing power parity is directly affected by the actual price level between comparative countries, reflecting the actual purchasing power of a currency in different markets; The exchange rate is mainly determined by the relationship between supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, and fluctuates with the changes of domestic and international payments, interest rates, economic growth, and even policy intervention, speculation, capital flow and many other factors. Moreover, in today's world, exchange rate has become an important policy tool for macroeconomic regulation and control in various countries. Therefore, the exchange rate changes greatly and frequently in the short term, while the purchasing power parity is relatively stable in a certain period of time.