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Futures Contracts A to Z: Specs, Drivers & Who Trades Them

Forty plain-English guides to the contracts that actually matter — the equity indices, energy, metals, currencies, rates and grains, from the E-mini S&P 500 down to the micro contracts. Each page has the real contract specs, what moves the market, who trades it, and which playbook strategies fit its session behavior.

Dramatic view of a Wall Street trading floor at dusk with a glowing electronic index board — E-mini S&P 500 futures, benchmark large-cap index trading
ES
E-mini S&P 500
The benchmark large-cap index future — deep liquidity and clean technical structure.
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 Glowing semiconductor circuit traces morphing into a rising stock chart at night — E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures, technology-weighted index
NQ
E-mini Nasdaq-100
The tech-weighted index future — faster moves, bigger swings, higher stakes.
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 Industrial city skyline with a steel bridge and factory smokestacks at golden hour — E-mini Dow futures, blue-chip industrial index
YM
E-mini Dow ($5)
The blue-chip Dow future — a slower, steadier cousin to ES with big-name stocks.
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 Rows of small independent storefronts on a lively main street at dawn — E-mini Russell 2000 futures, small-cap index
RTY
E-mini Russell 2000
The small-cap index future — choppier, news-reactive and often the first to turn.
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 Oil pumpjacks working against a fiery sunset sky — crude oil WTI futures, energy commodity trading
CL
Crude Oil (WTI)
The most-traded energy future — inventory data and geopolitics move it daily.
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 Bright blue gas flame rising from a steel pipeline valve at night — natural gas futures, Henry Hub energy trading
NG
Henry Hub Natural Gas
The weather-driven energy future — notorious for violent swings and gap moves.
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 Stacked gold bars glowing under warm vault light — gold futures, safe-haven metal trading
GC
Gold
The safe-haven metal — moves inversely with real rates and the dollar.
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 Silver bars and coins spilling across a dark reflective surface — silver futures, precious metals trading
SI
Silver
Gold's more volatile cousin — half industrial metal, half monetary metal.
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 Copper ingots and coils of wire in an industrial warehouse — copper futures, industrial metal trading
HG
Copper
The metal with a PhD in economics — global growth barometer in copper form.
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 Euro coins and banknotes arranged beside an ancient stone column — euro FX futures, currency trading
6E
Euro FX
The euro versus the dollar — trends with rate differentials over multi-day swings.
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 Japanese yen coins and banknotes before a red torii gate at twilight — Japanese yen futures, currency trading
6J
Japanese Yen
The classic carry-trade currency — a barometer for global risk appetite.
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 British pound banknotes and coins beside a clock tower silhouette — British pound futures, currency trading
6B
British Pound
Sterling — sensitive to UK rate policy, inflation and political headlines.
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 Australian dollar banknotes and gold coins on warm sand near ocean surf — Australian dollar futures, commodity currency
6A
Australian Dollar
The commodity currency — moves with iron ore, copper and China's growth cycle.
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 Canadian dollar coins and banknotes with a red maple leaf motif on dark stone — Canadian dollar futures, oil-linked currency
6C
Canadian Dollar
The oil-linked loonie — tracks crude and the Bank of Canada's rate path.
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 Glowing globe with dollar sign light patterns and international banknote silhouettes — US dollar index futures, global reserve currency
DX
US Dollar Index
The dollar against six major currencies — the reserve currency's scoreboard.
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 Classical government building facade at dusk with a bond certificate in the foreground — 30-year treasury bond futures, long-duration rates
ZB
30-Year US Treasury Bond
The long-bond future — the market's loudest voice on 30-year rates.
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 Rising bond yield chart rendered as glowing amber line over a dark financial district at night — 10-year treasury note futures, rate benchmark
ZN
10-Year US Treasury Note
The benchmark rate future — calmer than equities, ideal for range play.
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 Golden wheat field under a dramatic late-afternoon storm sky — wheat futures, grain commodity trading
ZW
Chicago SRW Wheat
The food-security grain — weather, war and planting reports move it.
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 Soybean plants heavy with pods in a sunlit field at harvest — soybean futures, grain commodity trading
ZS
Soybeans
The protein grain — South American weather and Chinese demand drive it.
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 Tall corn stalks in neat rows stretching to a bright horizon — corn futures, grain commodity trading
ZC
Corn
The ethanol-and-ethanol grain — USDA reports and planting weather rule it.
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 A miniature glowing index board on a trader's desk beside a full-size exchange screen — micro E-mini S&P 500 futures, the benchmark at one-tenth size
MES
Micro E-mini S&P 500
The E-mini S&P 500 at one-tenth the size — same benchmark, same liquidity, smaller risk per tick.
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 A small glowing chip with circuit traces rising like a stock chart on a dark desk beside a larger display — micro E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures
MNQ
Micro E-mini Nasdaq-100
The tech index at micro size — a $2 multiplier opens Nasdaq exposure to smaller accounts.
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 A miniature industrial city skyline model with a steel bridge and smokestacks on a trader's desk — micro E-mini Dow futures
MYM
Micro E-mini Dow ($0.50)
The Dow, miniaturized — one-tenth of the E-mini's size for blue-chip exposure.
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 A small model main street with tiny independent storefronts at dawn on a dark desk — micro E-mini Russell 2000 futures, small-caps at micro size
M2K
Micro E-mini Russell 2000
Small-cap exposure at micro size — fifty-cent ticks make Russell swings affordable.
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 A single small gold bar on a dark reflective surface beside a full-size stack of gold bars — micro gold futures
MGC
Micro Gold
Gold at one-tenth the size — one-dollar ticks for testing precious-metal setups with less capital.
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 A few polished silver bars on dark slate beside a tall stack of silver bars — micro silver futures
SIL
Micro Silver
Silver's micro contract — one-fifth of the full-size bar, with five-dollar ticks.
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 A small oil drum in the foreground with oil pumpjacks silhouetted against a fiery sunset — micro crude oil futures
MCL
Micro Crude Oil (WTI)
WTI at 100 barrels — one-dollar ticks bring crude's volatility within reach.
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 A fuel pump nozzle with a shimmering gasoline sheen and refinery towers in the hazy dusk background — RBOB gasoline futures
RB
RBOB Gasoline
The gasoline contract — crack spreads, driving season and refinery outages move it.
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 A steaming heating-oil storage tank and industrial pipes with a snow-dusted town behind at blue hour — heating oil futures
HO
Heating Oil
The distillate that heats homes — winter weather and refining margins drive it.
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 Lustrous platinum ingots on dark stone with a faint silver-white glow — platinum futures, industrial precious metal
PL
Platinum
The industrial precious metal — autocatalyst demand and a thinner tape than gold's.
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 Bright mirror-like palladium ingots on dark slate with sharp cool reflections — palladium futures, scarcest major metal
PA
Palladium
The scarcest major metal — tight supply and fifty-dollar ticks demand respect.
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 Swiss franc coins and banknotes on dark marble beside alpine peaks at twilight — Swiss franc futures, safe-haven currency
6S
Swiss Franc
The safe-haven franc — the classic low-yielder that surges when risk sours.
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 Mexican peso coins and banknotes on warm terracotta stone with a soft desert sunset behind — Mexican peso futures, EM currency
6M
Mexican Peso
The peso — rate differentials, remittance flows and oil prices move this fast EM currency.
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 New Zealand dollar coins and banknotes on dark volcanic rock with misty green hills behind — New Zealand dollar futures, commodity currency
6N
New Zealand Dollar
The kiwi — dairy prices, China demand and carry flows move this small open economy.
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 Ruble banknotes and coins on dark snow-dusted ground under a cold northern light — Russian ruble futures, geopolitically driven currency
6R
Russian Ruble
The ruble — sanctions, oil prices and capital controls make it the market's wild card.
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 A modern government office building at dusk with an amber light-trail chart line rising across the sky — 5-year treasury note futures
ZF
5-Year US Treasury Note
The 5-year note — the Fed's favorite maturity, calmer than the long bond.
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 A bank clock tower at blue hour with a small bond certificate in the foreground — 2-year treasury note futures, most rate-sensitive contract
ZT
2-Year US Treasury Note
The 2-year note — the most rate-sensitive contract on the board.
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 Golden soybean oil pouring from a steel spout into a glass container in a warm processing plant — soybean oil futures
ZL
Soybean Oil
The crusher's second output — biodiesel mandates and cooking-oil demand drive it.
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 Soybean meal pellets in a steel scoop beside a sunlit soybean field at golden hour — soybean meal futures
ZM
Soybean Meal
The protein feed — crush margins and livestock cycles set its path.
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 Reddish-tinged hard red winter wheat stalks in a Kansas plains field at golden hour with grain silos on the horizon — KC wheat futures
KE
KC Hard Red Winter Wheat
Hard red winter wheat — the bread-wheat contract with a thinner, faster tape than Chicago's.
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