The majority of forex market trading, such as Spot forex, is done over the counter. As a result, there is less trade transparency, which increases the counter-party risk.
Futures are entirely centralized, with most trading taking place on an exchange. When trading Futures, the risk of counterparty default is lessened.
Key Takeaways
- Futures trading involves buying and selling contracts for the future delivery of commodities or financial instruments, while forex trading involves buying and selling currencies.
- Futures trading is done through a centralized exchange, while forex trading is conducted in a decentralized, over-the-counter market.
- Futures trading involves more leverage and higher margin requirements than forex trading, which can increase profits and losses.
Futures vs Forex
The difference between futures and forex is that the pricing of futures markets is clear. Only the commission is paid, which is a fraction of what is paid in currency markets. However, trading on forex markets is done either by paying a spread or by paying a commission. The fees paid currently, however, are substantially more than those that will be paid in the future. Contracts involving FX pairings and markets are traded with higher leverage than its counterpart.
Futures contracts incorporate currencies and hence have the concept of an expiration date. In other words, they have a certain number of days before they expire.
Futures have the option to access and read some exclusive information, such as weekly institutional position reporting. Trader’s report of commitment is another name for it.
In contrast to the forex market, futures goods are priced separately. Futures contracts are often traded with a lower level of leverage than other transactions.
In forex markets, also known as spot forex markets, traders can hold positions for an infinite period and can also buy positions. As a result, there is no idea of expiration in the currency market.
The trader’s report of commitment, which is normally made every week, and the institutional positions reported here are not available to view or read on the forex exchanges.
The items and values associated with forex are not self-contained; instead, they are dependent on other currencies.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Futures | Forex |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Centralized | Over the counter |
| Fees | Only commission | Either commission or mark-up spread |
| Leverage | Low | High |
| Currency | Independent | Dependant |
| Expiry | Exists | Does not exist |
What is Futures?
Futures are completely centralized, with most trading taking place on an exchange. In the case of futures, counterparty default risk is minimized while trading.
The pricing of futures markets is done straightforwardly. Only the commission is paid, which is a fraction of what it costs to trade on the currency exchanges.
Futures contracts involve currencies and, as a result, have the concept of an expiration date. In other words, they have a certain number of days till they expire.
Futures can view and read some exclusive information, such as weekly institutional position reports.
Traders report of commitment is another name for this. In contrast to the forex market, the products involved in futures are priced separately. Futures contracts are often traded with a lower level of leverage than other types of transactions.
What is Forex?
Trading in the majority of forms of forex markets, such as Spot forex, is mainly done over the counter. As a result, there is a reduction in trade transparency, which increases the risk of the counter-party.
In the case of forex markets, trading is either done by paying a spread or by paying a commission.
The fees paid here, however, are substantially larger than those paid in the future.
In forex markets, which include spot forex markets, traders can hold positions for an extended period and buy positions. As a result, in the case of the FX market, there is no idea of expiration.
The trader’s report of commitment, which is normally produced every week, and the institutional positions are reported here are not available for viewing or reading on forex exchanges.
The items and values associated with forex are not self-contained; rather, they are dependent on other currencies. Contracts related to FX pairs and markets are traded with higher leverage.
Main Differences Between Futures and Forex
- Futures are exclusively centralized, and the trading is done on an exchange. In the case of Futures, the risk concerned with counterparty defaults is reduced while trading. On the other hand, Most of the time, the trading of the majority types of forex market like Spot forex, is done over the counter. Therefore, a situation arises of trade transparency which is much less and even boosts up the risk of the counter-party.
- When the future markets are traded, the pricing is done straightforwardly. Here only the amount of commission is paid, which is significantly less than the trading which is done in forex markets. On the other hand, in the case of forex markets, the trading is done by either paying a spread markup or by paying a commission. However, the fees paid here are significantly higher in comparison to those paid in the future.
- The contracts involving futures include currencies and thus possess the expiration date concept. In other words, they possess finite expiration dates. On the other hand, In forex markets, which also involve spot forex markets, here the traders possess the potential to hold the positions they possess for an indefinite time and can also buy positions. Thus, it means that in the case of the forex market, the concept of expiration does not exist.
- Futures possess the capability to view and read some exclusive information like the reporting of the institutional positions every week. Otherwise called a trader’s report of commitment. However, on the other hand, forex markets do not have the potential to view or read any information like the trader’s report of commitment, which is made every week, and the institutional positions are reported here.
- The products concerned with futures are priced independently, unlike the forex market. On the other hand, the products and values concerned with forex are not independent, rather, it depends upon other existing currencies.
- The trading of the contracts associated with futures is done with comparatively lesser leverage. On the other hand, the trading of contracts associated with the forex pairs and markets is done with higher leverage.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=LkEf6cVMbKcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=futures+and+forex&ots=IjIhUR9K9U&sig=CUsOyMHD4bVafZZprefdMa1vCwI
- https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-38227-8_7
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Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.
