Forward contract (or forward deal or future)

Fixed price contract between two parties for purchase or sale of a specified quantity of a commodity, security, currency or other financial instrument with delivery and settlement at a specified future date. The contact usually includes:the exact assets to be delivered by one party, including the location of delivery, the price paid for the assets by the other party, and the date when the assets and cash will be exchanged. Commonly used as a hedging tool. Differs from a futures contract in that most forward commitments are not actively traded or standardized and carry the risk from the creditworthiness of the other side of the transaction.