what are futures contracts and forward contracts? describe two differences between them.
A forward contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset at an agreed future point in time. The trade date and delivery date are separated. A futures contract is a standardized forward contract that is traded on an exchange, like SAFEX. Other than forward contracts, futures contracts are not linked with specific buyers.
For forward contracts, settlement of the contract occurs at the end of the contract. Futures contracts are marked-to-market daily, which means that daily changes are settled day by day until the end of the contract. Furthermore, settlement for futures contracts can occur over a range of dates.