What are contract specs?

Contract specs tell you about the size of the futures product being traded.

Many of the products in futures are commodities and due to their unique physical characteristics, the volume of each is measured in a slightly different way. For example, crude oil is measured in barrels, while corn and soybeans are measured in bushels.

Each futures contract specifies the quantity of the product delivered for a single contract, also known as contract size. For example: 5,000 bushels of corn, 1,000 barrels of crude oil or Treasury bonds with a face value of $100,000 are all contract sizes for 1 futures contract in the respective product.

A futures contract code also specifies the delivery month and year. For example, MESU3 indicates a micro E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract that expires in September of 2023.

CME Group contract specs can be found here.

Month Codes