re oil futures
Vermada,
Thanks for the information. I stand corrected. However, there is also another type of futures contract called a Forward Futures Contract which does not mark to market on a daily basis and the only time money is called for during the life of the contract is when the value of initial margin put up goes below a previously determined % of the whole contract. These types of contracts act more or less like a warrant. At any rate, your point about any one contract having a long and short position suggests that the Seeking Alpha article about COS was flawed because an equal number of futures traders believed the price of oil 5 years out was going to be lower and an equal number believed the price would be higher so these trading positions in themselves could not really give an indication of the future price of oil. As I said in my previous e-mail, there are too many variables to consider.
Lundu