A futures spread is an arbitrage technique in which a trader takes two positions on a commodity to capitalize on a discrepancy in price. Spreads can be less risky and volatile, which have lower margin requirements when compared to outright futures.
A calendar spread involves buying a futures contract in one month while simultaneously selling the same contract in a different month.
Calendar spreads can be further divided into a bull futures spread, a bear futures spread, and a butterfly spread. Please refer to the market conditions to select the appropriate strategy.
A commodity product spread involve buying and selling futures contracts that are related.
Commodity product spreads mainly include：
1) Spreads between related commodities, such as buying a gold futures contract while selling a silver futures contract.
2) Spreads between raw materials and finished products, such as buying a soybean futures contract whole selling a soybean meal futures.