a. Suppose you buy one contract for December 2014 delivery at the closing price. If the contract closes in December at a price of $3.56 per bushel, what will be your profit or loss? (Each contract calls for delivery of 5,000 bushels.) (Round your answer to 2 decimal places.) Profit or Loss of $

b. How many December 2014 maturity contracts are outstanding? Number of outstanding contracts __________

FIGURE 2.11 Corn futures prices in the Chicago Board of Trade, September 17, 2014 Source: Data from The Wall Street Journal Online, September 17, 2014. MONTH Dec '14 Mar '15 May '15 Jul '15 LAST 3416 3540 3624 3696 377'2 3882 CHG -20 -1'4 -1'6 -1'4 -20 -1'6 OPEN 343'2 3554 364'0 3712 378'0 389'4 HIGH 344'2 3560 364'2 3712 3780 3900 LOW 339'2 3510 3594 3666 3750 385'4 VOLUME 74580 19416 6153 5171 1791 3876 OPEN INT 796121 201794 51800 76051 20972 99741 Sep '15 Dec '15