⚠️ DISCLAIMER: This course is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You could lose more than your initial investment.
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Chapter 6 of 16

Reading Futures Quotes
The Menu Board

🎬 Video lesson⏱ ~30 min✅ 10-question quiz
Chapter 6 Video Lesson

Learning to Read the Scoreboard

🍽️ The Core Analogy: The Restaurant Menu Board

Walk into any fast food restaurant and look at the menu board. It tells you exactly what's available, what it costs, how much you get, and whether prices changed from yesterday. Every piece of information you need to make a decision is right there.

A futures quote screen is your menu board for the market. Once you know what each field means, you can read any futures quote in seconds and know exactly what's happening with any contract.

The 10 Fields on Every Futures Quote

Symbol
The ticker code. ESM25 = E-mini S&P 500, June 2025. CLZ26 = Crude Oil, December 2026. (See Chapter 3 for month codes.)
Last / Price
The most recent price at which the contract traded. This is the "current" price.
Change
How much the price has moved since yesterday's settlement. +12.50 means it's up 12.50 points from yesterday's close.
% Change
The change expressed as a percentage. Helpful for comparing moves across different markets.
Bid
The highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay. You sell at the bid if you want immediate execution.
Ask / Offer
The lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept. You buy at the ask if you want immediate execution.
Volume
Total number of contracts traded today so far. High volume = active market with tight spreads. Low volume = use caution.
Open Interest (OI)
Total number of contracts currently open (not yet closed or settled). Unlike volume (daily), OI accumulates over time.
High / Low
The highest and lowest prices traded during the current session. Useful for gauging today's range.
Settlement / Settle
The official closing price from the previous session, used for daily mark-to-market calculations.

Volume vs. Open Interest: The Critical Difference

This trips up almost every beginner, so let's nail it:

🎟️ Analogy: Concert Tickets

Volume = the number of tickets sold TODAY at the box office.
Open Interest = the total number of tickets that are currently out in people's hands (not yet used or returned).

If 500 tickets were sold today, volume = 500. If 10,000 people still hold tickets for the upcoming show, open interest = 10,000. Both numbers tell you different things about market activity.

What Volume and OI Tell You

  • Rising price + Rising volume: Strong trend — lots of conviction behind the move
  • Rising price + Falling volume: Weak move — may be about to reverse
  • Rising OI: New money entering the market, trend likely to continue
  • Falling OI: Traders closing positions, potential trend exhaustion

Reading a Real-World Quote: E-mini S&P 500

📊 Live Quote Example: ESM25

Symbol: ESM25 (E-mini S&P 500, June 2025)
Last: 5,024.75
Change: +18.50 (+0.37%)
Bid: 5,024.50 | Ask: 5,025.00
Volume: 892,341
Open Interest: 2,156,800
Today's High: 5,031.25 | Low: 5,006.00
Yesterday's Settlement: 5,006.25

Reading this: The June S&P 500 futures are currently trading at 5,024.75, up 18.50 points from yesterday's close. The bid-ask spread is 0.50 points ($25). Nearly 900k contracts have traded today — very active. Over 2 million contracts are currently open. Today's range so far: 5,006 to 5,031.25.

Understanding Futures Price Quotes

Different futures markets quote prices differently. This matters because the same "number" means very different dollars per contract:

Crude Oil (CL)
Quoted in dollars per barrel. $80.45 means $80.45/barrel × 1,000 barrels = $80,450 contract value.
Gold (GC)
Quoted in dollars per troy ounce. $2,045.30 means $2,045.30/oz × 100 oz = $204,530 contract value.
Corn (ZC)
Quoted in cents per bushel. 612'4 = 612 and 4/8 cents = $6.125/bushel × 5,000 bushels = $30,625.
E-mini S&P (ES)
Quoted in index points. 5,024.75 × $50 multiplier = $251,237.50 contract value.
10-Year Treasury (ZN)
Quoted in percent of face value + 32nds. 110'16 = 110 + 16/32 = 110.50% of $100,000 face = $110,500 contract value.
⚠️ Always Know the Multiplier: The raw price number means nothing without knowing the contract multiplier. $80 means very different things for crude oil (×1,000 = $80,000) vs. gold (×100 = $8,000 — but gold is usually quoted in the thousands anyway). Always look up the contract spec before trading.

The Continuous Contract vs. Specific Contract

On financial websites, you'll often see a "continuous contract" symbol like ES=F or CL=F (the =F suffix means futures). These automatically roll to the front-month contract so you see a continuous price history. When you actually trade, you'll select the specific contract month (ESM25, CLZ26, etc.).

🎯 Chapter 6 Key Takeaways

  • A futures quote screen is like a menu board — every field tells you something specific about the market
  • The key fields: Last (current price), Bid/Ask (immediate buy/sell prices), Volume (today's trades), Open Interest (total open contracts)
  • Volume = daily trading activity; Open Interest = total outstanding contracts (they measure different things)
  • Rising price + rising volume = strong, conviction-driven move
  • Different markets quote prices in different units — always know the multiplier to calculate real dollar value
  • Continuous contract symbols (ES=F) show historical data; when trading you pick a specific month
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