Actually, presuming that the hypothetical futures contract is being traded on the Merc (Chicago Mercantile Exchange), the contract is actually marked-to-market at the close of every trading day. That is, if the contract is in the money by $1,000.00, you're paid a grand in cash. If you're out of the money by $1,000.00, you need to cough up a grand in cash. The example also doesn't mention if it's a capped contract or not, so that makes the question impossible to answer.