Definition
A futures contract is a standardized contract to buy or sell a specified commodity of standardized quality at a certain date in the future and at a market-determined price (the futures price). The contracts are traded on a futures exchange. Some of the most popular assets on which futures contracts are available are equity stocks, indices, commodities and currency.
The price is determined by the the forces of supply and demand among competing buy and sell orders on the exchange at the time of the purchase or sale of the contract.