答案C

问题如下：

A first-year analyst on the commodity futures trading desk of a bank is assessing the desk’s current portfolio and its typical trading patterns. The analyst examines why a large majority of the trades made by the desk are cash-settled and reviews the delivery mechanics of cash-settled and physically settled futures contracts. Which of the following observations is the most likely for the analyst to make?

选项：

A.

Regulators prefer that cash settlements take place whenever possible due to the inconvenient delivery process involved in physically settling futures contracts.

B.

The bank should trade physically delivered commodities using forward contracts since they provide a similar payoff to futures contracts, but unlike futures, they trade on exchanges and are less prone to credit risks.

C.

It is risky for the bank to take physical delivery of commodities due to uncertainty about the exact underlying asset, delivery location, and delivery timeframe.

D.

Taking physical delivery of commodities can involve warehousing costs and storage costs, so traders usually prefer using futures for financial purposes and not for consumption.

解释：

D is correct. Very few futures contracts lead to the delivery of an underlying asset because traders usually prefer to close out contracts before the delivery period.

A is incorrect. Regulators do not like cash settlement because it makes futures contracts seem like gambling. As such, they prefer physical settlements to take place whenever possible.

B is incorrect: The opposite is true, forward contracts trade OTC and are subject to higher credit risks than futures contracts, which trade on exchanges.

C is incorrect: The exact underlying asset, delivery location and delivery time are specified in the contracts, so are not sources of risk.