From the perspective of a buyer, a fair price is a price that is in line with (or below) the fair market value of the contract deliverable (to the extent that fair market value can be approximated through price analysis). "Fair market value" is the price you should expect to pay, given the prices of bona fide sales between informed buyers and informed sellers under like market conditions in competitive markets for deliverables of like type, quality, and quantity. When data on probable performance costs are available, a separate test of "fairness" is whether the proposed price is in line with (or below) the total allowable cost of providing the contract deliverable. This cost would be the cost incurred by a well managed, responsible firm using reasonably efficient and economical methods of performance, plus a reasonable profit. From the perspective of a seller, a fair price is a price that is realistic in terms of the seller's ability to satisfy the terms and conditions of the contract.

The equilibrium price for futures contracts. Also called the theoretical futures price, which equals the spot price continuously compounded at the cost of carry rate for some time interval.

Figuring the tail Financial future