With the development of modern commodity economy and the substantial improvement of social labor productivity, international trade is widely carried out, the world market is gradually formed, and the changes of market supply and demand are more complicated. The forward contract transaction price that only reflects the expected change of market supply and demand can no longer adapt to the development of modern commodity economy, but needs a price that can continuously reflect the whole process of potential supply and demand changes, so that the majority of producers and operators can adjust commodity production in time, avoid the price risk caused by adverse price changes, and make the whole social production process go smoothly. In this case,

It is generally believed that modern futures trading originated in the United States. 1848 The establishment of Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) marks the beginning of futures trading. The emergence of futures trading is not accidental, but based on the development of spot forward contract trading and the extensive commercial practice of commodity producers, traders and processors. From 65438 to 0833, Chicago has become the center of American domestic trade. After the Civil War, Chicago developed into a transportation hub because of its superior geographical location. By the middle of19th century, Chicago had developed into an important distribution center and processing center for agricultural products. There are a lot of agricultural products in Chicago, and people bargain face to face in the street according to the old trading method. The price fluctuated extremely sharply at that time. During the harvest season, farmers transport grain to Chicago, and the oversupply in the market leads to a sharp drop in prices, which often prevents farmers from collecting freight. The next spring, food was scarce, and it was difficult for processors and consumers to buy food, and the price soared. Practice suggests that it is necessary to establish an effective market mechanism to prevent the price from soaring and plunging.

In order to solve this problem, distributors in grain producing areas came into being. Local dealers set up enterprises and warehouses to buy farmers' grain, and then sell it after the humidity of the grain reaches the specified standard. Local dealers buy farmers' grain through spot forward contracts, store it first, and then list it in batches. There are two problems in the trade practice of local distributors: first, they need to borrow money from banks to buy grain depots from farmers; Second, in the process of purchasing and storing, it is necessary to bear the huge price risk of winter grain. Price fluctuation may make local dealers unprofitable or even unable to recover their costs. The best way to solve these two problems is to "sell first and then buy", and contact traders and processors in Chicago in the form of forward contracts to transfer price risks and obtain loans. In this way, spot forward contract trading has become a common trading method.

However, traders and processors in Chicago also face the problems faced by local distributors. For example, they are only willing to pay local dealers at a price lower than their estimated forward price at the time of delivery to avoid the risk of price decline at the time of delivery. Because the purchase price of traders and processors in Chicago is too low, local dealers who come to Chicago to negotiate forward contracts have to find a wider range of buyers for their own benefit and set a good price for their own grain. Some non-grain merchants believe that it is profitable to buy forward contracts first and then sell them near the delivery date, thus making a profit. In this way, the demand for purchasing forward contracts has gradually increased, which has increased the income of local distributors and increased the income paid by local distributors to farmers.

1848, the first modern futures exchange-Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) was established. When the Chicago Board of Trade was founded, it was not a modern futures exchange in the true sense, but a place where spot trading and spot long-term contract transfer were concentrated.

In the development of futures trading, there have been two revolutionary changes, one is the standardization of contracts, and the other is the establishment of settlement system. From 65438 to 0865, the Chicago Board of Trade standardized contracts and launched the first batch of standardized futures contracts. Contract standardization includes the standardization of quality, quantity, delivery time, delivery place and payment terms in the contract. Standardized futures contracts reflect the most common business practices, making it very convenient for market participants to transfer futures contracts. At the same time, it enables producers and operators to relieve their performance obligations through hedging and liquidation, and also enables market makers to participate in trading conveniently, greatly improving the market liquidity of futures trading. While standardizing the contract, the Chicago Board of Trade also stipulates that the trading margin should be paid at 10% of the total contract value.

With the development of futures trading, settlement is very difficult. At first, the settlement method adopted by the Chicago Board of Trade was ring settlement, but this settlement method was complicated and difficult. 189 1 year, Minneapolis Grain Exchange first established a clearing house. Subsequently, the Chicago Board of Trade also set up a clearing house. It was not until the establishment of modern clearing houses that the real futures trading was gradually improved and the futures market structure was sound. Therefore, the emergence of modern futures trading and modern futures market is the inevitable result of the development of commodity economy and the inherent requirement of social productivity development and production socialization.