期货合约的中文解释

期货合约是一种标准化的合约，承诺在未来某一时间以当前约定的价格买进或卖出标准数量的某种金融工具或商品。期货合约与远期合约一样，均是承诺以当前约定的条件在未来进行交易的合约，但期货合约是必须在交易所买卖的标准化合约，而远期合约则是场外市场(OTC)为买卖双方量身定制的合约。标准化是指交易所就每一份期货合约代表的数量、报价的单位、交割日及合约月份等条件订立标准。期货报价的精确度至跳动点(tick)为止，跳动点是价格变动的最小单位。期货投资人很少进行实物交割。在交割日期临近时，多数投资人会进行等值的反向交易来结清头寸。期货市场的主要参与者包括那些希望免受价格涨跌影响的套期保值者(hedgers)，以及企图从价格波动中获利的投机者。每一笔交易中，买方和卖方都需通过清算行进行结算，因此无须直接打交道，避免了违约风险。期货源自人们管理价格波动风险的需要，如农产品的价格会因气候等难以预测的因素而波动，人们因而发展期货市场来确定未来的买卖价。金融期货，(例如利率及股价指数期货)是当前成交量最大的期货品种。

Futures的英文解释

A future is an undertaking to buy or sell a standard quantity of a financial asset or commodity at a future date and at a fixed price. Futures resemble forwards, but are standardized contracts (ie. every futures contract has standardized terms that dictate the size, the unit of price quotation, the delivery date and contract months) and must be traded on a recognized exchange. Price movements are expressed in ticks (the smallest unit of price quotation). Delivery of a future is rare. As the delivery date draws near, most investors close out their positions by undertaking an equal and opposite trade. The futures markets bring together hedgers who wish to protect themselves against the rise or fall of prices, and speculators who are trying to benefit from such movements. A clearing house acts as the counter party in every transaction to protect against the risk of default, so the buyer and seller do not have to deal directly with each other. Futures developed as a method for establishing forward purchase prices and managing price instability caused by seasonal factors in agricultural markets. Today, interest rate and stock index futures attract the greatest volume.

• financial [fi´nænʃəl]   a.金融的，财政的   (初中英语单词)
• resemble [ri´zembəl]   vt.类似，象   (初中英语单词)
• agricultural [ægri´kʌltʃər(ə)l]   a.农业的   (初中英语单词)
• volume [´vɔlju:m, ´vɑljəm]   n.卷；书籍；体积；容量   (初中英语单词)
• undertaking [,ʌndə´teikiŋ]   n.任务；事业；计划   (高中英语单词)
• commodity [kə´mɔditi]   n.日用品；商品   (高中英语单词)
• dictate [dik´teit]   v.口授；指示，命令   (高中英语单词)
• quotation [kwəu´teiʃən]   n.引用；引文；语录   (高中英语单词)
• delivery [di´livəri]   n.送交；分娩；交货   (高中英语单词)
• counter [´kauntə]   n.计算者；柜台；计算机   (高中英语单词)
• seller [´selə]   n.销售者；行销货   (高中英语单词)
• trying [´traiiŋ]   a.难堪的；费劲的   (英语四级单词)
• clearing [´kliəriŋ]   n.(森林中的)空旷地   (英语四级单词)