When is futures expiration

An example of variable scheduling pertains to CME gold futures expiration dates. Quarterly contracts are offered once every three months, or four times per year. These issues are useful in the application of longer-term trading strategies because liquidity is present even though the futures expiration dates may be farther out. Essentially, a quarterly futures expiration or quarterly options expiration gives market participants more time to capitalize on broader pricing trends.

With a bit of due diligence, the investor could identify desirable forthcoming futures contract months and open a new position. Similar strategies could also be executed by examining ES options expiration dates in Seasonal expirations are designed with respect to the production schedule of the underlying asset.

Seasonal expiry is common to ag commodities that are subject to planting and harvest. Thus, many commodity futures expiration dates are based on the production schedules of raw materials.

A good example of seasonal expiry comes in the form of grain and oilseed futures. The CME provides participants with a variety of products designed to aid in the pursuit of almost any financial goal. However, from year to year, the schedules are similar. So if you look at the futures expiration calendar , , , or , there will be many like entries. Here are answers to several of the most common:.

Successful futures traders understand the importance of continuous education and improvement. To learn more about how futures contracts expiration can influence your trading and other technical aspects of futures contracts, download our free e-book Technical Analysis for Beginners. It will help you make more informed decisions as you start trading futures. Established by renowned commodity trader Andy Daniels in , Daniels Trading was built on a culture of trust committed to a mission of Independence, Objectivity and Reliability.

The StoneX Group Inc. StoneX Financial Inc. SFI is registered with the U. He is also a member of CMT Association. A futures contract is a deal between a contract buyer and seller to exchange cash for a product commodity, stock, currency.

Futures contracts are based on commodities brought to exchange and bought by parties that need them. Corn, oil, beef, precious metals, and other materials are examples of items that are bought and sold on exchanges. Investment companies use these products to create securities.

They then sell them on the exchanges. Futures contracts the securities are traded based on the prices of the underlying products. This means that the prices of these securities rise and fall with the price of the products. As well as following the price changes, the futures contracts have expiry dates that match the expiry date of the commodity contract.

Many kinds of futures contracts expire on different dates. Their expiry dates are also based on the exchange that handles the contracts. Be aware of the expiry date for the contract you are trading; it will be stated in the contract language.

If you notice a drastic decline in volume from one day to the next, you are likely nearing expiry on that futures contract, as most traders have switched to trading a contract with a date further out. Futures contracts are divided into several usually four or more expiry dates throughout the year.

Each of the futures contracts is active can be traded for an amount of time. The contract then expires and cannot be traded anymore.

The date upon which a futures contract expires is known as its expiry date. The expiry dates for U. This table shows these dates through You can also lookup expiration dates on the website of the exchange on which a contract is listed. To see the expiry date for your futures contract listed on a CME Group exchange:. To see the expiry date for your specific futures contract listed on the ICE or Intercontinental Exchange:.

Expiry dates for futures products traded on other exchanges can be found the same way on the exchange's website. In addition, some trading platforms also show when a futures contract expires.

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