Delivery Date

In finance, the delivery date, also known as the settlement date, refers to the specific date on which an investment contract must be completed. Companies using financial instruments like forward or futures contracts to protect their foreign currency transactions from FX risk must meet the delivery dates established in the contracts.

In futures trading, the delivery date is the day on which the shares or commodities underlying the futures contract are to be transferred to the investor. In other words, the delivery date is also the maturity date of a futures or forward contract. Some futures contracts may require the physical delivery of a commodity. In this case, they can specify a delivery month, which is the month in which the seller must deliver the underlying asset and the buyer has to pay for it. In such instances, the terms of the contract may also define a delivery location.

Futures contracts traded on US exchange markets (bonds, stocks, foreign exchange and stock indexes) generally have quarterly delivery dates in March, June, September and December. In currency forward contracts, which are over-the-counter agreements, the delivery date and the price of the asset are agreed privately between the two parties involved.