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What this futures hedging interview question tests

This is an easy finance question that probes understanding of how futures contracts work as risk-management tools. It asks you to match a real-world exposure to the correct derivative position—a core skill in trading, risk management, and quantitative finance interviews.

The question rewards clear reasoning about the direction of your underlying risk (what price movement hurts you?) and how to offset it. You'll need to think about whether you're long or short the physical commodity, and which futures position neutralizes that exposure. Firms ask questions like this to confirm you understand the mechanics of hedging before moving to more complex scenarios involving basis risk, roll costs, or cross-hedges.

• Long and short exposures in physical vs. derivative markets
• Basis and the cash-futures relationship
• Why firms hedge price risk rather than speculate