Definition: Futures contract

Category: Balance of Payments, IMF

A futures contract is an agreement between two parties to exchange a real asset for a financial asset, or to exchange, on a specified date at predetermined rate, two financial assets. Traded financial futures, including those for interest rates, currencies, commodities, equities, or other indices, are recorded in the financial account in a similar manner to options. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ramon/statmanuals/files/BoP_Manual_Fifth_Edition_EN.pdf#page=101