| Feedstock |
The supply of crude oil, natural gas liquids or natural gas to a refinery or petrochemical plant or the supply of intermediate product to some other manufacturing process. |
| FIA |
Futures Industry Association. |
| Fill or Kill Order |
An order which demands immediate execution or cancellation; fill the order or cancel it immediately. |
| Firm Service |
Utility service which assumes no interruption of gas service unless residential customers’ supply is at risk. Compare to interruptible service which is automatically interrupted at a pre-determined temperature. |
| First Notice Day |
The first day on which notices of customer intent to deliver physical commodities against futures market positions can be received by an exchange. |
| Floor Broker |
An exchanged member who executes customer orders for trades on the floor of an exchange. |
| Floor Trader |
An exchanged member who executes trades on the floor of an exchange for his own personal account and risk. Also known as a local. |
| Force Majeure |
A clause in a contract which indemnifies either or both parties prevent fulfillment of the terms of the contract. Also known as “An Act of God” escape clause. |
| Free on Board (FOB) |
Indicates that all delivery, inspection and loading costs involved in placing commodities on board a carrier, (private or common), have been paid by the seller. |
| Frontrunning |
An illegal process in which floor broker trades for his own account before executing a customer order; with full knowledge of the order, and with the intent of profiting from the effects of the customer order on the market. Also known as trading ahead. A major CFTC no no. |
| Fundamental Analysis |
The study of supply and demand factors which influence the prices of commodities. |
| Fungible |
Interchangeable, mixable. Commodities which can be commingled for transportation and/or storage. |
| Futures |
A standardized contract for the purchase or sale of a commodity which is traded for future delivery under the rules and regulations of a recognized exchange. |
| Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) |
The formal term for a commission or brokerage house. |
| Futures Equivalent |
An option term which is the number of options multiplied by the previous day’s risk factor (exchange risk factor) or delta for the option series to determine speculative position limits and margin requirements for the options trader. For example, ten options with a risk factor of 0.20 would equal two futures contracts. |
