1. A futures contract is an agreement in which the buyer agrees to receive assets at a specific price after a specified time, and the seller agrees to deliver assets at a specific price after a specified time. The price that both parties agree to use in future transactions is called futures price. The designated date on which both parties must conduct transactions in the future is called settlement date or delivery date.

2. The assets that both parties agree to exchange are called "targets". If an investor obtains a position in the market by buying a futures contract (that is, agreeing to buy it at a future date), it is called a long position or a futures long position. On the contrary, if the position obtained by investors is to sell futures contracts (that is, to assume the contractual responsibility for future sales), it is called short positions or short futures.