BACK MONTHS
The futures or options on future months being traded that are farthest from expiration.

BEAR
One who believes prices will move lower.

BEAR MARKET
The market in which prices are declining.

BID
The price that the market participants are willing to pay.

BULL
One who expects the market to rise.

BULL MARKET
A market in which prices are rising.

BUY ON CLOSE
To buy at the end of a trading session at a price within the opening range.

BUY ON OPENING
To buy at the beginning of a trading session at a price within the opening range.

CASH COMMODITY
The actual physical commodity as distinguished from futures commodity.

CLOSE
The period at the end of the trading session: sometimes used to refer to the closing range.

CLOSING RANGE
The high and low prices or bids and offers that were recorded during the official trading
hours are designated as the official close. ( Please refer to settlement price )

COMMISSION
The one time fee charged by a broker to a customer when a futures or options on futures
position is liquidated either by offset or deliver. This process is also known as a Round
Turn.

CFTC
The government agency that currently regulates the nations commodity futures industry.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission was created by the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission Act of 1974.

CONTRACT
Unit of trading for a financial or commodity future. Also acts as a bilateral agreement
between the buyer and the seller of a futures or options on futures transactions as defined
by and exchange.

CONTRACT MONTH
The month in which futures contracts may be satisfied by making or accepting delivery.

DAY ORDER
Any order that is placed for execution during only one trading session. If the order cannot
be executed that day, it is automatically canceled.

DAY TRADING
Refers to establishing and liquidating the same position or positions within one day's trading, thus ending the day with no established position in the market.

DELIVERY
The tender and receipt of an actual commodity, financial instrument, or cash in settlement of a futures contract.

EXPIRATION DATE
The last day that an option may be exercised in the underlying futures contract. Also, the last day of trading for a futures contract.

FLOOR BROKER
An exchange member who is paid a fee for executing orders for Clearing Members or their
customers. A floor Broker executing orders must be licensed by the CFTC.

FLOOR TRADER
An exchange member who generally trades only for his/her own account or for an account
controlled by him/her. Also referred to a "local".

FUTURES
A term used to designate all contracts covering the purchase and sale of financial instruments or physical commodities for future delivery on a commodity futures exchange.

LIMIT ORDER
An order given to a broker by a customer that specifies a price. The order can be executed only if the market reaches or betters that price.

LIQUIDATION
Any transaction that offsets or closes out a long or short futures position.

LONG
One who has bought a futures or options on futures contract to establish a market position through an offsetting sale.

MARGIN
Funds that must be deposited as a "performance bond" by a customer with his or her broker. The performance bond helps insure the financial integrity of brokers, clearing members and the Exchange as a whole.

MARGIN CALL
A demand for additional funds to be deposited in the margin account because of an adverse price movement.

MAINTENANCE PERFORMANCE BOND
A sum which must be maintained on deposit in the customers account at all times. If a
customer's equity in any futures position drops to, or under, the maintenance performance bond level, a "performance bond call" is issued for the amount of money required to restore the customer's equity in the account to the initial margin level.

MARKET ORDER
An order for immediate executioner given to a broker to buy or sell at the best obtainable price.

MAXIMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION
The maximum amount the contract price can change, up or down, during one trading
session, as stipulated by the Exchange rules.

MINUMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION
The smallest increment of price movement possible in trading a given contract.
Commonly referred to as a "tick".

MIT
Market-if-Touched. A price order that automatically becomes a market order if the
price is reached.

NEAR-BY
The nearest active trading month of a futures, or options on futures contract. Commonly
referred to as the "lead month".

OFFER
Indicates a willingness to sell a futures contract at a given price.

OPEN ORDER
An order to a broker that is good until it is canceled or executed.

OPENING, THE
The period at the beginning of the trading session during which all transactions are
considered made or first impressions were completed.

OPENING PRICE
The range of prices at which the first bids and offers were made or first transactions
were completed.

POSITION
An interest in the market, either long or short, in the form of open contracts.

RALLY
An upward movement or prices following a decline. The opposite of a reaction.

RANGE
The high and low prices or high and low bids and offers recorded during a specified time.

REACTION
A decline in prices following an advance. The opposite of a rally.

REGISTERED REPRESENTATIVE
A person employed by and soliciting business for a commission house or Futures
Commission Merchant.

ROUND TURN
A procedure by which a long or short position is "offset" by an opposite transaction,
or accepting or making delivery of the actual financial instrument or physical commodity.

SCALP
Scalping normally involves establishing and liquidation of a position quickly, usually within
the same day, same hour, or even within a few minutes. A day-trader is a scalper.

SHORT
One who has sold futures contract to establish a market position and who has not yet closed out his position through an offsetting purchase.

SPECULATOR
One who attempts to anticipate price changes through buying and selling futures contracts. One who aims to make a profit. One who does not use the futures market in connection with the production, processing, marketing, or handling of a product. The speculator has no interest in making or taking delivery.

STOP ORDER
An order to buy or sell at the market when and if a specified price is reached.

TICK
Refers to a change in price, either up or down.

TREND
The general direction of the market.

VOLUME
The number of transactions in a futures, or options on a futures contract made
during a specified period of time.