Die Ontwikkeling Van Finansiële Termynmarkte: 600 Tot Die Laat 1980’s

The aim of this article is to investigate the historical development of futures markets for the hedging of price risks by means of futures contracts. It is shown that the principle underlying hedging transactions in the futures markets has already been utilised a long time ago. A very definite development pattern according to the type of traded contracts can be identified. Futures on commodities were the first type of contracts available for hedging purposes. These were followed by financial futures which consist of currency and interest rate contracts.The study of the historical development of futures markets provide guidelines for a newly established futures market. It is, for example, necessary to market any new concept aggressively and the need for a thorough knowledge about the operation of these types of markets cannot be overemphasised.