Basis trading is a pricing and hedging strategy often adopted by importers. It refers to a hedging strategy that the spot transaction price is fixed by the imported commercial futures market price, thus transferring the risk of resale price fluctuation. In this way, when negotiating with exporters, importers can temporarily determine the fixed price, but fix the basis according to the futures price of the exchange. Some importers choose futures prices to set the price before shipment. Once the importer chooses a futures price on a certain day, he will also establish a short trading position on the futures exchange. When the goods are resold, the importer sells the goods at a benchmark price equal to or greater than the spot price, and closes the position in futures trading. In this way, no matter how the futures price changes, the importer will not suffer any losses in spot trading, and if the basis of selling the spot is greater than that of buying the spot, the importer will also benefit from the basis trading.

Some speculators also use the basis to carry out arbitrage trading.