Futures delivery refers to the process that when the futures contract expires, both parties to the transaction transfer the ownership of the goods contained in the futures contract and finally settle the contract at the end of the period.

There are two delivery methods: cash delivery and physical delivery:

Cash delivery refers to the profit and loss accounting of the difference between the buying and selling price of both parties and the settlement price on the expiration date on the expiration date of the contract, and the profit and loss are respectively settled with the counterpart, and the target physical delivery is not involved during the period;

Physical delivery refers to the expiration date of the contract, when the seller delivers the corresponding goods to the delivery warehouse designated by the exchange according to the quality and quantity, and the buyer delivers the corresponding money to the exchange to fulfill the futures contract. General financial securities futures contracts are mainly cash transactions, and commodity futures contracts are mainly physical delivery.

Futures delivery process:

In the futures market, commodity futures are usually delivered in kind, while some varieties in financial futures are delivered in kind and some are delivered in cash.

Cash delivery is based on the spot price at the time of delivery as the basis for trading profit and loss and fund allocation, because it does not carry out physical delivery. Therefore, the spot price of varieties for cash delivery should have the characteristics of certainty, and it is standard and unique.

The regional price difference of agricultural products is very obvious, and it does not have the conditions for cash delivery. The trading target of stock index futures is stock index, which is fictitious and unique and more suitable for cash delivery. At present, domestic gold futures cannot be delivered in kind.