All previous transactions were spot transactions. Spot means to solve things now. For example, going shopping in the supermarket, that's all. \x0d\ However, it is not enough to have spot transactions. Because in production, people are faced with the risk of price fluctuation, which makes producers at a loss. \x0d\ For example, the raw materials of grain processing plants fluctuate seasonally, and neither the processing plants nor farmers know what the food price will be in three months. \x0d\ If the harvest is good, the grain price will drop and farmers will suffer serious losses (farmers are most afraid of a bumper harvest! ); If the harvest is not good and food prices skyrocket, it will be the turn of the grain processing plant to suffer heavy losses and may close down or close down. \x0d\ People have learned a lesson that grain processing plants can sign "long-term contracts" with farmers. Forward is a concept relative to the present. Not trading now, but trading again at some time in the future. \x0d\ Three months after the long-term transaction is agreed, the processing factory buys farmers' grain at the agreed price, which is affordable for the processing factory, that is, it is profitable; Farmers can accept it. If a long-term transaction can be reached, it will be beneficial to both the processing plant and the farmers. \x0d\ Of course, after three months, perhaps the actual price is lower than the price of this forward contract, and the processing factory must also pay at the higher price stipulated in the contract, and the processing factory will suffer losses, but the price is affordable to the processing factory; Farmers will benefit from it. \x0d\ The factory may cheat and fail to perform the contract. Therefore, when signing a contract, you can find a middleman, and the middleman collects the deposit for the performance of the contract from both parties. \x0d\ forward trading is a new trading method invented by grain traders in Chicago, USA in 1948. Today's futures trading is developed on the basis of forward trading, but there are substantial differences! \x0d\ Futures trading is not a commodity, such as grain, but a contract. Sales are "standardized contracts". \x0d\ A standardized contract is a contract formulated by a futures exchange, which stipulates that a certain number of subject matter shall be delivered at a certain time and place in the future. \x0d\ The subject matter refers to the "basic assets" corresponding to the contract, which can be commodities such as grain, crude oil and steel, or financial instruments such as foreign exchange and stock index. \x0d\ If the subject matter is commodity, it is commodity futures; Where the subject matter is a financial instrument, it is a financial futures. \x0d\ The difference between futures and forward transactions is that forward transactions are conducted in a decentralized manner, and contracts are not standardized and diversified. Futures trading is concentrated in special trading places, and the contract specifications are unified. For example, soybean futures in China are traded on Dalian Commodity Exchange, copper futures are traded on Shanghai Metal Exchange and cotton is traded on Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange. \x0d\ The bigger difference is that the price of forward transactions is decided privately by both parties, while the price of futures is decided by many buyers and sellers in the exchange through call auction, just like the price of stocks. \x0d\ Since it is a fair, there are many people attending. For the future price trend of a certain subject, there must be bulls and bears, because everyone has different views on the world, otherwise, the transaction will not exist. \x0d\ Spot transaction means that both money and goods are paid, and the full amount must be paid. Nobody owes anyone and won't sell a penny. Futures trading does not need the full amount, because futures trading does not actually deliver the subject matter, it is purely short. \x0d\ For example, in the futures trading of soybeans, neither side delivers soybeans. Therefore, futures trading is a margin system, as long as a certain proportion of the amount involved in the contract is enough. \x0d\ The function of the deposit, to put it bluntly, is that if you lose the bet, the money is enough for you to compensate each other. This is the famous "leveraged trading". \x0d\ Futures trading has leverage effect, that is, small bets are big. For example, leverage amplifies the benefits and risks. \x0d\ Miss Zhang invested RMB 654.38+10,000 in soybean futures, assuming that the initial margin stipulated by the exchange is 654.38+00%. On 1 October 1 day, she bought the contract that expired on March1day at the price of 10000 yuan (the exchange set one, such as10 ton). \x0d\ Because the initial margin is 10%, Miss Zhang Can bought the 100 soybean contract with 100 yuan, which is unimaginable in the spot market. \x0d\ The next day, that is, 1.2, the contract price of soybeans rose by 10% (of course, because of the increase in soybean prices), so Miss Zhang Can can earn 65,438+10,000 yuan by selling the contract, with a yield of 100%! \x0d\ If the price drops by 10%, her yield is-100%. At this time, Miss Zhang's total deposit is only enough to pay compensation. If she wants to do business again, she must add a deposit. If she doesn't add, the exchange will force Miss Zhang to "close the position" in order to ensure the interests of the other party. \x0d\ positions, that is, "contract positions" held by investors, are called "long positions" for buying and "short positions" for selling. \x0d\ liquidation means liquidation of the contract in hand. If you buy a contract, closing the position is selling; If the contract is sold (futures can be sold short, that is, the psychology should be known), closing the position is buying. \x0d\ Forced liquidation ensures that no one defaults, so the default risk of futures trading is zero! Think about it, which other market can do this. \x0d\ People concerned will find that Miss Zhang sold the contract the next day instead of waiting for three months. \x0d\ This is the characteristic of futures trading. Few people wait until the contract expires to trade, but they can trade at any time as long as they think they can. Just like gambling, the right person can get the money without waiting for the maturity; Those who lose money also pay in advance.