The final day that a futures contract may trade or be closed out before delivery of the underlying asset or cash settlement must occur. By the end of the last trading day, the contract holder must be prepared to accept delivery of the commodity, or settle in cash if the position is not closed. The holder of a futures contract is obligated to fulfill the terms of the contract, however, in most cases, delivery of the asset underlying the futures contract does not occur, as most investors use futures as a method to hedge or speculate on the underlying asset's price.