1. sell futures contracts: traders build short positions by selling futures contracts because they expect futures prices to fall. This is equivalent to a trader borrowing a futures contract and promising to deliver the subject matter of the futures contract at a specific price on a specific date in the future.
2. Buy futures contracts: After the future futures prices fall, traders buy futures contracts at lower prices, thus closing their previous short positions. This is equivalent to the trader repaying the previously borrowed futures contract and making a profit in the process.
For example, suppose a trader expects the price of a futures contract to drop from 100 yuan to 80 yuan. Traders can sell the 1 lot futures contract at the price of 100 yuan (assuming the contract size is 1 lot = 100 units), and then buy the 1 lot futures contract when the price falls to 80 yuan. In this case, the trader will get the profit of 20 yuan (selling 100 yuan, buying 80 yuan, 2 yuan per unit, * * * 100 unit).
It should be noted that shorting futures requires certain risks. If futures prices do not fall as expected, but rise, traders may suffer losses. In addition, futures trading involves leverage, that is, traders need to pay a certain percentage of margin to establish positions. This may lead to greater potential losses, so careful risk management is needed.
In short, shorting futures is a trading strategy that benefits from the expectation of falling futures market prices. By selling futures contracts and buying futures contracts to close positions, traders can make profits in the process of falling prices. However, shorting futures also involves certain risks, which need to be carefully managed.