Both forex and traditional
futures operate in the same basic manner: a
contract is purchased to
buy or
sell a specific
amount of an
asset at a particular
price on a predetermined date. (For an in-depth introduction to futures, see Futures Fundamentals.) There is, however, one key difference between the two: forex futures are not traded on a centralized
exchange; rather, the
deal flow is available through several different exchanges in the
U.S. and abroad. The vast
majority of forex futures are traded through the
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (
CME) and its partners (introducing brokers). However, this is not to say that forex futures contracts are
OTC per se; they are still bound to a designated '
size per contract,' and they are offered only in whole numbers (unlike forward contracts). It is important to remember that all
currency futures quotes are made against the U.S.
dollar, unlike the
spot forex
market.