Call	to demand payment of
Call Option	An option that gives the buyer (holder) the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specific asset or obtain a long futures position at a fixed price within a specified period of time.
Cash commodity	The physical or actual commodity as distinguished from the futures contract. Sometimes called the spot commodity or actuals.
Cash price	The price for actual or spot commodities available via customary marketing channels.
Cash settlement	A settlement method used in certain future and option contracts whereby, upon expiry or exercise, the seller of the financial instrument does not deliver the actual but transfers the associated cash position.
CFTC	The federal regulatory agency established in 1975 to administer the Commodity Exchange Act.
Clearing	The procedure through which the clearinghouse becomes the buyer to each seller of a futures contract and the seller to each buyer and assumes responsibility for the financial integrity of each open contract.
Clearing member	A member of a clearinghouse through whom all trades must be settled.
Clearinghouse	An adjunct to a futures exchange through which transactions executed on the floor of the exchange are matched, settled and guaranteed. Charged with assuring the adequate financial protection of trading through collection and payment of margin and the proper conduct of the exchange's delivery procedures.
Commitment	Something pledged, especially an engagement by contract involving financial obligation.
Commodity	an article of trade or commerce, esp. a product as distinguished from a service.
Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA)	An individual or firm who, for pay, trades accounts for individual clients or for commodity pools and/or who provides analysis, reports or advice concerning futures and options trading.
Contango	Market situation in which prices are progressively higher in the succeeding delivery months than in the nearest delivery month. Also termed carrying charge; opposite of backwardation.
Contract	An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law.
Contract Size	The deliverable quantity of goods or commodities underlying futures, forward, and option contracts.
Cover	(1) To offset an existing futures position; (2) to have in hand the physical commodity or other asset underlying a futures contract when a short futures position is taken; or (3) to acquire the commodity to be delivered on a short futures position.
Credit Spread	(1) The spread between Treasury securities and non-Treasury securities that are identical in all respects except for quality rating. (2) An options strategy where a high premium option is sold and a low premium option is bought on the same underlying security.
Cross-hedge	Hedging a cash market risk in a futures or options contract for a different but price-related commodity, security, currency or index.
Cross-margining	An offsetting position where market participants are able to transfer excess margin from one account to another account whose margin is under the required maintenance margin.
Currency risk	A form of risk that arises from the change in price of one currency against another. Whenever investors or companies have assets or business operations across national borders, they face currency risk if their positions are not hedged.
A call option with a strike price higher or a put option with a strike price lower than the current market price of the underlying commodity, security, currency, index or futures contract.