If the spread between the futures market and the spot market is used for arbitrage, it is called spot arbitrage. If the spread between different contracts in the futures market is used for arbitrage, it is called spread trading.
Arbitrage form
Intertemporal arbitrage
Speculators use the price difference of the same commodity in different delivery periods in the same market to buy futures contracts in one delivery month and sell similar futures contracts in another delivery month, thus making profits. Its essence is to profit from the relative change of the price difference of the same commodity futures contract in different delivery months. This is the most commonly used form of arbitrage.
Cross-market arbitrage
Speculators take advantage of the different futures prices of the same commodity in different exchanges, and buy and sell futures contracts in two exchanges at the same time to profit from them.
Cross-variety arbitrage
The so-called cross-commodity arbitrage refers to arbitrage by using the futures price difference between two different but interrelated commodities, that is, buying (selling) a futures contract of one commodity in a certain delivery month and selling (buying) another futures contract and another related commodity in the same delivery month at the same time.