> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ocx.global/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Futures

> Dated contracts marked to fair value from spot/index plus cost of carry

In addition to perpetuals, OCX lists **dated futures** — contracts that expire
and settle on a specific date. Each dated contract is priced to its own **fair
value**, which reflects the **cost of carry** between now and expiry.

## Fair value and cost of carry

The fair value of a future is the underlying spot/index compounded forward over
the remaining life of the contract:

$$
F = S \times \left(1 + \text{APR} \times \frac{t}{365}\right)
$$

where $S$ is the underlying spot/index, $t$ is the number of days to expiry, and
$\text{APR}$ is an annualized cost-of-carry rate for that underlying.

Intuitively, holding the underlying to a future date carries a financing (and,
for commodities, storage and convenience) cost, and the futures price reflects
that. As expiry approaches, $t \to 0$ and the futures fair value **converges to
spot**.

## Direct exchange forward first

Whenever OCX lists a dated contract that corresponds to a real CME contract, OCX
prices it directly from **that specific contract's live forward on the exchange
feed** — the actual market price for that delivery month. This is correct under
any shape of the curve:

* **Contango** — deferred months trade above spot.
* **Backwardation** — deferred months trade below spot.

The cost-of-carry formula above is the model OCX falls back to when a direct
exchange forward for that exact tenor is not available, so every listed future
always has a principled mark.

## Settlement

At expiry, a dated future settles against the underlying reference price and open
positions are closed at settlement. Marks and market data for dated contracts are
available alongside perpetuals via `GET /perps/markets` and
`GET /perps/market-stats`.