Module 9: Futures
12 lessons, in reading order.
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Futures Contract Specifications: Size, Tick, Multiplier and Months
Read a futures spec sheet: contract unit, tick size, tick value and point value, month codes such as H, M, U and Z, the last trading day and settlement.
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Futures Margin and Daily Mark-to-Market Explained
Futures margin explained: initial vs maintenance margin, daily mark-to-market cash flows, a worked margin call, and why losses can exceed the deposit.
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Futures Expiration, Rollover and Continuous Charts
When futures expire and why traders roll: roll timing, calendar spreads, front-month switching, and how back-adjusted continuous charts alter past prices.
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Futures Trading Hours, Settlement Prices and Price Limits
Futures trading hours explained: the near 24-hour session and daily break, regular vs overnight hours, the settlement price, and how price limits work.
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Equity Index Futures: E-mini and Micro Contracts Compared
E-mini vs Micro index futures compared: ES, MES, NQ, MNQ, YM, MYM, RTY and M2K multipliers, tick values and notional size, plus basis and fair value.
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Commodity Futures: How Crude Oil and Gold Contracts Work
How crude oil and gold futures work: barrels and troy ounces, tick values, physical delivery and roll timing, micro contracts, contango and backwardation.
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Interest Rate Futures: Treasury and SOFR Contracts Explained
Learn how Treasury futures relate to bond yields, how SOFR futures are quoted as one hundred minus a rate, and how a strip of months implies a rate path.
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Currency Futures: How They Compare With Spot Forex
Learn how currency futures are quoted in dollars per unit, why futures differ from spot by interest rate gaps, and how they differ from spot forex.
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Calendar Spreads and the Forward Curve in Futures
Learn what contango and backwardation describe, how a calendar spread is the signed price difference between two months, and how roll yield affects funds held over time.
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The Commitments of Traders Report: Who Holds Futures Positions
Learn what the weekly Commitments of Traders report shows, what its trader categories mean, how net positions are read and why the data is dated.
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Micro vs Standard Futures Contracts: Same Market, Different Size
Compare micro and standard futures on the same index: multiplier, notional value and dollars per move, plus how fees and liquidity can differ by size.
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Seasonality in Futures: Patterns, Causes and Limits
Learn what seasonality means in futures, how seasonal charts average past years, what averaging hides, and why known patterns may already be priced.