Futures are the subject matter that is bought and sold now, but will be settled or delivered in the future. This subject matter can be gold, crude oil, agricultural products, financial instruments, financial indicators and other commodities. The delivery date of futures can be one week later, one month later, three months later or even one year later. A contract or agreement to buy or sell futures is called a futures contract. The place where futures are bought and sold is called the futures market.