Underlying Commodity - The commodity or futures contract on which a commodity option is based, and which must be accepted or delivered if the option is exercised. Also, the cash commodity underlying a futures contract.

Variable Price Limit - A price limit schedule, determined by an exchange, that permits variations above or below the normally allowable price movements for any one trading day.

Variation Margin - Payment made on a daily or intraday basis by a clearing member to the clearing organization based on adverse price movement in positions carried by the clearing member, calculated separately for customer and proprietary positions.

Vault Receipt - A document indicating ownership of a commodity stored in a bank or other depository and frequently used as a delivery instrument in precious metal futures contracts.

Visible Supply - Usually refers to supplies of a commodity in licensed warehouses.

Volatility Quote Trading - Refers to the quoting of bids and offers on option contracts in terms of their implied volatilities rather than as prices.

Volume of Trade - The number of contracts traded during a specified period of time. It may be quoted as the number of contracts traded or in the total of physical units, such as bales or bushels, pounds or dozens.

Warehouse Receipt - A document certifying possession of a commodity in a licensed warehouse that is recognized for delivery purposes by a commodity futures exchange.

Warrant - An issuer-based productthat gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy (in the case of a call) or to sell (in the case of a put) a stock or a commodity at a set price during a specified period.

Warrant or Warehouse Receipt for Metals - Certificate of physical deposit, which gives title to physical metal in an exchange approved warehouse.

Wash Trading - Entering into, or purporting to enter into, transactions to give the appearance that purchases and sales have been made, without resulting in a change in the trader's market position.

Weak Hands - When used in connection with delivery of commodities on futures contracts, the term usually means that the party probably does not intend to retain ownership of the commodity, when used in connection with futures positions, the term usually means positions held by small speculators.

Wild Card Option - Refers to a provision of any physical delivery Treasury Bond or Note futures contract which permits shorts to wait until as late as 8:00p.m. on any notice day to announce their intention to deliver at invoice prices that are fixed at 2:00p.m., the close of futures trading, on that day.

Writer - The issuer, grantor, or maker of an option contract.

Yield Curve - A graphic representation of market yield for a fixed income security plotted against the maturity of the security