Are gold futures physically settled?
Interactive Brokers offers trading on various COMEX precious metal futures and eligible clients can take physical delivery of COMEX silver or gold futures. Physical delivery is in the form of a registered warrant or automated certificate of exchange (ACE) for each full size or E-micro futures contract.
While you can take physical delivery on a gold or silver futures contract, most futures contracts these days are closed prior to expiration or are cash-settled.
For the period up to the last trading day, the Commodity Futures Contracts (physical settlement) are settled through offsetting purchase or sale. * There will be a payment/receipt of the mark-to-market differences during the period from the trade execution to the settlement.
Gold can be considered the ultimate store of value. Buying gold futures contracts as an anti-inflation hedge may be their primary use. The liquidity of the gold futures contract often makes it easier to take advantage of opportunities in nearly all market conditions.
One of the safest and most affordable to ship gold is the United States Postal Service (USPS) registered mail service.
Unlike most options and futures contracts that, as mentioned earlier, are cash-settled, physical delivery is the more popular mode of settlement for equity options contracts. Physical delivery involves a number of additional costs, including delivery costs, transportation costs, brokerage fees, and so on.
- Default risk is a very real phenomenon, which can leave an individual in the lurch during trade.
- Gold prices can fluctuate and it is possible for an investor to lose money on his/her investment if prices drop significantly from the time of signing an agreement and taking delivery.
Most options and futures contracts are cash-settled. However, an exception is listed equity options contracts, which are often settled by delivery of the actual underlying shares of stock.
As we said earlier, there is a future contract settlement that happens daily and also a final settlement that happens on the last day of expiry, which is the last Thursday of the month.
What is physical settlement of futures?
What is physical settlement? In a Stock F&O contract, when there is an open position that has not been squared off by its expiry date, physical settlement takes place. This implies they have to physically give/take delivery of Stocks to settle the open transactions instead of settling them with cash.
For Futures Contracts
In this case, to physically settle the shares you need to buy the stock by paying the total settlement value i.e. ₹ 4,00,000.
Commodity futures are typically settled physically at expiration. This means that with a long position, an investor will receive the underlying commodity.
COMEX GC Gold is Very Liquid During Asian Hours
It is well known that COMEX has the highest traded volumes of Gold futures (code: GC) among all the global exchanges, at over 381,000 contracts2 (or 1,185,000 kilograms) a day.
Since these ETFs are backed by physical gold, investing in them is generally just as safe as investing in gold coins and bars — at least in terms of protecting yourself from market volatility and inflation. In fact, depending on your definition of safe, physical gold ETFs may be safer than gold coins and bars.
Gold futures refers to a transaction in which a person promises to receive delivery of the gold at a mutually agreed-upon date in exchange for a down payment, with the remainder of the payment to be delivered according to the terms of the agreement.
Reportable Purchases
Often, promoters will claim that the coins they offer are not subject to “reporting.” Such statements imply the government requires gold transactions be reported. However, no government regulations require the reporting of the purchases of any precious metals, per se.
Pros of investing in physical gold
Gold is a smart investment for many reasons. Here's why physical gold in particular can be beneficial: Tangibility: One of the primary benefits of investing in physical gold is that it's a tangible asset investors can hold in their hands, unlike more-abstract assets such as stocks.
A key feature of WTI Crude Oil futures at CME Group is that they're physically delivered. If a trader has a long or short position in the nearest futures contract at the end of the month, they will have to make or take delivery of actual Crude Oil at the WTI delivery point in Cushing, OK.
Futures contracts, meanwhile, are standardized to trade on stock exchanges. As such, they are settled daily. These arrangements come with fixed maturity dates and uniform terms.
Why are futures rarely delivered?
Date and geographic location for physical "delivery" of the underlying asset (but actual delivery rarely happens because most contracts are liquidated before the delivery date)
Spot Gold and Futures Gold Rates
being some of them. The value of spot gold changes on a daily basis, according to the market. Typically, spot gold rates are cheaper than gold futures rates since there is no extrapolation involved when one purchases spot gold. What they see is what they get, with no market predictions.
Today, the demand for gold, the amount of gold in the central bank reserves, the value of the U.S. dollar, and the desire to hold gold as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation all help drive the price of the precious metal.
The spot price of a commodity is the current cash cost of it for immediate purchase and delivery. The futures price locks in the cost of the commodity that will be delivered at some point other than the present—usually, some months hence.
Mark-to-Market Settlement
The gain or loss is settled daily based on the difference between the futures contract price and the prevailing market price. If the futures contract price stands higher, the trader suffers a loss, and vice versa.
References
- https://www.cmegroup.com/education/courses/introduction-to-crude-oil/crude-oil-fundamentals/delivery-of-wti-futures.html
- https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/basics-trading-futures-contracts
- https://fisherpreciousmetals.com/resources/general-market-info/truth-precious-metals-reporting/
- https://groww.in/p/what-is-gold-futures
- https://www.motilaloswal.com/blog-details/how-are-future-contracts-settled/21281
- https://help.upstox.com/support/solutions/articles/251859-physical-settlement-on-all-stock-derivatives
- https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0311/what-drives-the-price-of-gold.aspx
- https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/commodities/commodities-cash-settlement-vs-physical-delivery/
- https://www.indiainfoline.com/knowledge-center/derivatives/how-to-settle-future-contracts
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-buying-physical-gold-worth-it-for-investors/
- https://www.bankbazaar.com/gold-rate/difference-between-spot-and-futures-gold-rate.html
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/062315/how-are-commodity-spot-prices-different-futures-prices.asp
- https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/metals-physical-delivery.php
- https://www.jmbullion.com/investing-guide/paper-investments/gold-silver-futures/
- https://www.jpx.co.jp/jscc/en/cash/futures/assumption-obligation/commodityphysical.html
- https://www.schwab.com/futures/gold
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/are-gold-etfs-as-safe-as-gold-coins-and-bars/
- https://www.angelone.in/knowledge-center/derivatives/settlement-procedure
- https://www.cmegroup.com/education/articles-and-reports/trading-comex-gold-and-silver.html
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/forwardsandfutures.asp
- https://www.easyship.com/blog/how-to-ship-precious-metals-gold
- https://www.degiro.co.uk/knowledge/investing-in-futures/commodity-futures
- https://www.bankbazaar.com/gold-rate/gold-futures.html
- https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cashsettlement.asp