TA futures contract allows a trader to speculate on the direction of movement of a commodity's price.
If a trader bought a futures contract and the price of the commodity rose and was trading above the original contract price at expiration, then they would have a profit. Before expiration, the buy trade—long position—would be offset or unwound with a sell trade for the same amount at the current price effectively closing the long position. The difference between the prices of the two contracts would be cash settled in the investor's brokerage account, and no physical product will change hands. However, the trader could also lose if the commodity's price was lower than the purchase price specified in the futures contract.

Speculators can also take a short or sell speculative position if they predict the price of the underlying asset will fall. If the price does decline, the trader will take an offsetting position to close the contract. Again, the net difference would be settled at the expiration of the contract. An investor would realize a gain if the underlying asset's price was below the contract price and a loss if the current price was above the contract price.

It's important to note that trading on margin allows for a much larger position than the amount held by the brokerage account. As a result, margin investing can amplify gains, but it can also magnify losses. Imagine a trader who has a $5,000 broker account balance and is in a trade for a $50,000 position in crude oil. Should the price of oil move against their trade, they can incur losses that far exceed the account's $5,000 initial margin amount. In this case, the broker would make a margin call requiring additional funds be deposited to cover the market losses.