Choose a commodity from the following list:

1. Corn 2. Wheat 3. Gold 4. Silver 5. Crude Oil 6. Natural Gas

a. On which market (exchange) are the futures for this commodity traded?

b. What are the contract specifications? (Size, delivery, etc.)

c. What is the typical trading volume for these futures?

d. Where is the forward curve right now for the next calendar year? (i.e., what are the futures prices?) Is it upward or downward sloping, does it show seasonal variation?

e. How far out do the futures contracts go? What happens to liquidity of these contracts (as measured by volume) as you move to more distant delivery dates?