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Market Basics
How markets actually work: quotes, futures, liquidity, volatility, and the forces that move every price on this site.
Foundations
What Are Financial Markets?
A financial market is any system where buyers and sellers come together to trade an asset and, in doing so, agree on a price. This site tracks five… · 8 min read
Spot vs Futures Prices
The price shown on most commodity tables is a futures price — an amount agreed today for delivery of a standardized quantity at a future date — not… · 6 min read
What Is a Futures Contract?
A futures contract is a legally binding agreement to buy or sell a specific asset — a set quantity, at a set price, on a set future date. Unlike… · 7 min read
Contango and Backwardation
Contango and backwardation describe the shape of a futures curve — the pattern of prices across different delivery dates for the same commodity or… · 6 min read
Market Liquidity, Explained
Market liquidity describes how easily an asset can be bought or sold in meaningful size without pushing its price significantly. A liquid market has… · 6 min read
Reading the Numbers
How Market Quotes Work
A market quote is a snapshot of a financial instrument's price at a specific moment, showing not just the last traded price but also the bid, ask… · 6 min read
What Is Volatility?
Volatility measures how much an asset's price swings over time — not which direction it moves, but how large the typical moves are. Realized… · 6 min read
Risk-On, Risk-Off: How Sentiment Moves Everything
Risk-on, risk-off describes a recurring pattern in financial markets where investor sentiment swings between appetite for reward and demand for… · 6 min read
Reading Price Charts
A price chart is a visual record of what a market paid for something over time — it shows nothing more, nothing less. This guide explains the two… · 7 min read
Day, Week, YTD, YoY: Reading Percentage Moves
The percentage-change columns on a market data table — Day, Week, Month, YTD, and YoY — each measure a different time window and answer a different… · 6 min read