Suppose today is February 10, 2017, and your firm produces breakfast cereal and needs 150,000 bushels of corn in May 2017 for an upcoming promotion. You would like to lock in your costs today because you are concerned that corn prices might rise between now and May. Use Table 23.1

a.	What total cost would you effectively be locking in based on the closing price of the day? (Round your answer to the nearest whole number, e.g., 32.)
b.	Suppose corn prices are $3.65 per bushel in May. What is the profit or loss on your futures position? (Enter your answer as a positive number. Do not round intermediate calculations and round your answer to the nearest whole number, e.g., 32.)

Agriculture Futures A Corn (CBT)-5,000 bu; cents per bu. March 369.50 372.75 May 377.25 380.25 Oats (CBT)-5,000 bu; cents per bu. March 256.00 257.50 367.50 375.25 369.50 377.25 -1.25 -1.25 500,405 346,739 250.00 254.50 50 4,155 |