Futures contracts are agreements to buy or sell an asset at a predetermined future date and price. These contracts are standardized and traded on exchanges, which means that the pricing of a futures contract is influenced by various factors including the current market price of the underlying asset, the time to expiration, and interest rates. When evaluating and pricing futures contracts, it's essential to understand how these elements interact.
Consider a futures contract for oil that currently trades at $70 per barrel, with a delivery date in three months. The risk-free interest rate is 2% per annum. What should be the theoretical futures price at delivery, assuming no storage costs are incurred?