Options are a more complex class of derivatives.
A standard option is an agreement either to buy or to sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specified date in the future, where one and only one counterparty can cancel the agreement. A standard option is similar to a forward since it is also a contract for an exchange in the future, where the price to be paid is preset in the present. However, an option differs from a forward, since one of the counterparties can cancel it. Since for the buyer, an option is a right, not an obligation, he will choose to cancel the option if it turns out not to be to his benefit. On the other hand, the option seller has no such right and must honor the contract if the buyer chooses to exercise his option.