Agreement between a buyer and a seller to exchange certain goods for a fixed price some time in the future.

An over-the-counter obligation to buy or sell a financial instrument or to make a payment at some point in the future, the details of which were settled privately between the two counterparties. Forward contracts generally are arranged to have zero mark-to-market value at inception, although they may be off-market. Examples include forward foreign exchange contracts in which one party is obligated to buy foreign exchange from another party at a fixed rate for delivery on a pre-set date. Off-market forward contracts are used often in structured combinations, with the value on the forward contract offsetting the value of the other instrument(s).

A contract in which the seller agrees to deliver a specified commodity or financial instrument at a specified price sometime in the future. The terms of a forward contract are negotiated at the time of the trade. Forward contracts trade "over the counter", as opposed to trading on a market.

Where products are traded ahead of their physical loading.