In trading and investment, basis refers to the difference between an asset’s spot price and its futures price for delivery on a predetermined date. In other words, basis is the cost of carrying the asset from the present date to the future delivery date. Basis is an important concept in the financial markets, particularly in commodity trading. It can affect the profitability of hedging strategies and traders can monitor it to gauge market supply and demand.
A trader wants to trade wheat, which currently has a market price of $5 per bushel, while the futures price for the delivery of a bushel of wheat in three months’ time is $6 per bushel. This creates a basis of $-1, and the negative basis indicates that the futures price is higher than the spot price.
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