Difference Between Forward Law And Forward Contract

1179 Words3 Pages

A forward contract is an agreement made between two parties where one agrees to buy and one agrees to sell at a predetermined price on a date in future. It is said to be a flexible financial tool as it allows the buyer to customize the details and terms of the contract, such as the assets and amount to be traded as well as the date of delivery based on the buyers’ will. Some of the examples of the assets which could be traded with forward contract are commodities like oil, grain, natural gas and electricity as well as financial instruments and currencies of the foreign countries. This type of contract is traded over-the-counter and is majorly used to hedge against price risk, that is, the possibility of declination in the value of security in future. Since it is a customizable contract, it comes with a higher exposure of the risk of default and therefore, it may not be generally available to the individual investors. An illustration of forward contract could be made with the scenario between a wheat farmer and a beverage manufacturer. The wheat is expected to be harvested in six months’ time whereas the inventory of the beverage manufacturer has to be replenished after six months. As both sides of these parties would face price risk, that is, a decline in the spot prices of the wheat within the coming six months which would lead to a …show more content…

In other words, this means that a forward contract allowed the investors to decide on the assets and time to delivery of the transaction whereas alteration on these details cannot be done with a future contract. Moreover, a forward contract is said to be a private agreement as it is dealt directly between the buyer and the seller of the transaction. As for future contract, it is said to be a public contract as it is generally available and could be freely traded on the

Open Document