The spot market or cash market is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial ma ...

in which

financial instruments Financial instruments are monetary contracts between parties. They can be created, traded, modified and settled. They can be cash (currency), evidence of an ownership interest in an entity or a contractual right to receive or deliver in the form ...

commodities In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them. The price of a co ...

are traded for

immediate delivery ''Immediate Delivery'' (Spanish: ''Entrega inmediata''), originally known as ''Agente XU 777'' (English: ''Agent XU 777'') is a 1963 Mexican comedy film directed by Miguel M. Delgado and starring Cantinflas, Gina Romand, Claudio Brook and Fanny ...

. It contrasts with a

futures market A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or ...

, in which delivery is due at a later date. In a spot market,

settlement Settlement may refer to: * Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building *Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

normally happens in

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working days, i.e., delivery of cash and commodity must be done after two working days of the trade date. A spot market can be through an exchange or

over-the-counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

(OTC). Spot markets can operate wherever the

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

exists to conduct the transaction.

Exchange

Securities A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any for ...

(i.e.

) and

are traded on an exchange using, making, and possibly changing the current

market price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the ...

OTC

In the OTC i.e.,

over the counter Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are medicines sold directly to a consumer without a requirement for a prescription from a healthcare professional, as opposed to prescription drugs, which may be supplied only to consumers possessing a valid prescr ...

market, trades are based on contracts made directly between two parties, and not subject to the rules of an exchange. The contract terms are agreed between the parties and may be non-standard. The price will probably not be published.

Examples

Energy spot

The spot energy market allows producers of surplus energy to instantly locate available buyers for this energy, negotiate prices within milliseconds, and deliver energy to the customer just a few minutes later. Spot markets can be either privately operated or controlled by industry organizations or government agencies. They frequently attract speculators, since spot market prices are known to the public almost as soon as deals are transacted. Examples of energy spot markets for

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

in Europe are the Title Transfer Facility (TTF) in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and the National Balancing Point (NBP) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

Exchange

OTC

Examples

Energy spot

See also