Futures Contract There are two futures contracts currently available for gold. One contract expires 6 months from today and the other expires 12 months from today. The spot price for gold is $1,850 per ounce and the 6-month and 12-month spot rates are 1.35% and 1.90% respectively (both quoted as APRs with semi-annual compounding). Gold storage costs are $12.00 per 6-month per ounce, paid at the end of the storage period (i.e. at the end of each 6-month period). Short selling of physical gold is not possible.

a) The current 12-month futures price is $1,920.00. Is there an arbitrage trade? If so, describe the strategy and calculate the arbitrage profits.

If the term structure of interest rates remain constant over the next 6 month and the spot price is the same as the theoretical futures price of the 6-month contract, how would the value of a 12-month futures contract evolve over the next 6-months?