Futures delivery refers to the process that when a futures contract expires, both parties to the transaction settle the expired open contract by transferring the ownership of the goods contained in the futures contract. There are two delivery methods: cash delivery and physical delivery: cash delivery refers to the expiration date of the contract, which calculates the profit and loss of the difference between the buying and selling price and the settlement price on the expiration date, and settles the profit and loss to the corresponding party respectively, and the period does not involve the physical delivery of the target; 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 market first appeared in Europe. As early as ancient Greece and Rome, there were central trading places, bulk barter transactions, and trading activities with the nature of futures trade. The original futures trading was developed from spot forward trading.

The first modern futures exchange 1848 was established in Chicago, USA, and 1865 established a standard contract model.

In 1990s, China Modern Futures Exchange came into being. There are four futures exchanges in China: Shanghai Futures Exchange, Dalian Commodity Exchange, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange and China Financial Futures Exchange. The price changes of its listed futures products have a far-reaching impact on related industries at home and abroad.

The initial spot forward transaction is a verbal commitment by both parties to deliver a certain amount of goods at a certain time. Later, with the expansion of the scope of transactions, oral promises were gradually replaced by sales contracts. This kind of contract behavior is becoming more and more complicated, and it needs intermediary guarantee to supervise the timely delivery and payment of goods. So the Royal Exchange, the world's first commodity forward contract exchange, opened in London on 157 1.

In order to adapt to the continuous development of commodity economy, improve transportation and storage conditions and provide information for members, 1848, 82 businessmen initiated and organized the Chicago Board of Trade (Board 185 1 Chicago Board of Trade to launch forward contracts; 1865, Chicago Grain Exchange introduced a standardized agreement called "futures contract" to replace the previous long-term contract. This standardized contract allows manual contract trading, and gradually improves the margin system, thus forming a futures market specializing in standardized contract trading, and futures become investors' investment and financial management tools. 1882 exchange allows hedging to be exempted from performance obligations, which increases the liquidity of futures trading.