Futures and options represent two of the most common form of "Derivatives". Derivatives are financial instruments that derive their value from an 'underlying'. The underlying can be a stock issued by a company, a currency, Gold etc., The derivative instrument can be traded independently of the underlying asset. Futures are contracts for the delivery of specified amounts of a certain commodity, on a certain date in the future. Many of the commodities involved in futures trading are agricultural, such as wheat, corn, and orange juice concentrate. However, futures contracts for many other "commodities" such as precious metals, currencies, and even interest rates, are also traded and exchanged.

Options contracts are instruments that give the holder of the instrument the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price. An option can be a 'call' option or a 'put' option. Options on future contracts limit losses while maintaining the possibility of yielding good profits. Margin in the future contract implies the starting deposit made into an account for entering the futures market. The great majority of contracts exchanged in futures trading are traded by speculators, who liquidate their position before the contract expires, taking either a profit or a loss from the transaction. In other words, the delivery of the commodity is not then the responsibility of the investor. The speculator involved in futures trading does, however, play an important role in the economy. Most of all, they make it easier for those who actually need to deliver or take delivery of commodities, to plan for the future.