What are Corn Futures?
Futures markets are markets that deal with the promise to either buy or sell a set commodity at a set price at some point in the future. They originated as a way for producers to protect themselves somewhat against price fluctuations based on external forces, such as the demand for corn in the marketplace. The earliest modern futures market was created in Osaka, Japan, as a way of selling futures of rice. In the United States in the early 19th century, around Chicago, agricultural commodity markets sprang up to sell futures, including corn futures. The first forward contract through the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was in corn futures, and took place in 1951. The corn futures market operates on contracts that come up in March, May, July, September, and December. The minimum size for a corn futures contract is 5,000 bushels of corn, and the price limit is set at $1000 US Dollars (USD) per contact above or below the previous day’s final price. There are three grades of tradable corn: Nu
