What Is Interest Rate Future Contract?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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An interest rate future is

a futures contract with an underlying instrument that pays interest

. The contract is an agreement between the buyer and seller for the future delivery of any interest-bearing asset.

How are interest rate futures settled?

are a legal agreement to either deliver the interest-bearing security at expiration or settle the contract in cash. Most often, futures are cash-settled. Interest rate futures are traded

on centralized exchanges

and have a few specific components.

What are interest rate futures used for?

Interest rate futures. Futures contracts are of

fixed sizes and for given durations

. They give their owners the right to earn interest at a given rate, or the obligation to pay interest at a given rate. Buying a future creates the obligation to deposit money and the right to receive interest.

What does selling interest rate futures mean?

Interest rate futures are a type of futures contract that are based on a financial instrument which pays interest. It is a contract between a buyer and a seller which agrees to buy

and sell a debt instrument at a future date

when the contract expires at a price that is determined today.

What is short term interest rate future?

A short-term interest rate (STIR) future is a futures contract that derives its value from the interest rate at maturation. … This value is

calculated as 100 minus the interest rate

. Contracts vary, but are often defined upon an interest rate index such as 3-month sterling or US dollar LIBOR.

Do you pay interest on futures?


There are no interest charges on futures margin

because it represents a deposit held with the broker to open a contract. Investors can borrow up to 50% of the value of equities in a margin account held at a stock brokerage and will pay interest charges for the privilege of doing so.

What is forward interest rate?

A forward rate is

an interest rate applicable to a financial transaction that will take place in the future

. … The term may also refer to the rate fixed for a future financial obligation, such as the interest rate on a loan payment.

What is interest rate swap with example?

Generally, the two parties in an interest rate swap are

trading a fixed-rate and variable-interest rate

. For example, one company may have a bond that pays the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), while the other party holds a bond that provides a fixed payment of 5%.

What is a sterling future?

Short Sterling and Betting on Interest Rates. … Short Sterling is a

3 month interest rate future

which is highly correlated to base rates. If base rates were unexpectedly raised by 1% then the Short Sterling contract would also rise by 1%, or as is more commonly known 100 basis points.

What is a treasury future?

CBOT Treasury futures are

standardized contracts for the purchase and sale of U.S. government notes or bonds for future delivery

. … U.S. Treasury bonds trade around the clock leading to constant price fluctuations. In general, bond prices move in inverse proportion to interest rates or yields.

Will speculators buy or sell treasury bond futures contracts if they expect interest rates to increase?

Speculators should sell Treasury bond futures contracts. If they expected interest rates to increase, this implies

expectations of lower bond prices

. Thus, if security prices decline so will futures prices. Speculators could then close out their positions by purchasing an identical futures contract.

What is a Eurodollar future?

Eurodollar futures are

interest-rate-based financial futures contracts specific

to the Eurodollar, which is simply a U.S. dollar on deposit in commercial banks outside of the United States.

How do you trade interest rates?

  1. When it comes to trading interest rates, you have lots of choices beyond simply buying bonds outright. …
  2. TREASURY BONDS. …
  3. BOND FUTURES. …
  4. EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS. …
  5. STOCKS.

Will interest rates rise in 2021?

Will interest rates rise in 2021?

Unlikely

, despite the fact that the Bank of England expects inflation could go above 3% by the end of the year due to the strength of Britain’s economic recovery. A central bank’s job is to keep inflation in check and it can do this by altering interest rates in the UK economy.

Is margin interest charged daily?

Margin interest

is accrued daily and charged monthly

. The interest accrued each day is computed by multiplying the settled margin debit balance by the annual interest rate and dividing the result by 360. The amount of the debit balance determines the annual interest rate on that particular day.

How do you avoid margin interest?

How do I avoid paying Margin Interest? If you don’t want to pay margin interest on your trades,

you must completely pay for the trades prior to settlement

. If you need to withdraw funds, make sure the cash is available for withdrawal without a margin loan to avoid interest.

Ahmed Ali
Author
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali is a financial analyst with over 15 years of experience in the finance industry. He has worked for major banks and investment firms, and has a wealth of knowledge on investing, real estate, and tax planning. Ahmed is also an advocate for financial literacy and education.