Spot Market
Spot market is also known as Cash market and is a constituent of Public financial markets. Spot market denotes the market where commodities or financial instruments are exchanged with a view of immediate delivery. These markets are in contrast to Futures markets, where financial instruments or commodities are traded for delivery at some later stage. A spot market may be either an organized exchange or an Over the Counter exchange.
Spot markets work primarily over internet. That said, these markets can carry out transactions wherever there is proper infrastructure in place. These financial instruments or commodities are bought and sold on the basis of latest market price.
OTC
Under these markets, the parties to the contract carry out the transaction directly and are not bound by the regulations of any formal exchange. All the parties to the contract agree upon the terms, and these terms may differ from contract to contract. The parties may or may not publish the price as per their discretion.
Spot Forex
The spot foreign exchange market generally levies two day delivery period restriction. This is done to facilitate the movement of funds from one financial institute to the other. A large proportion of such speculative foreign exchange trading in retail segment is carried out through online trading platforms.
Energy Spot
The spot energy market is designed to facilitate transactions between energy producers and energy buyers. These markets let energy producers with excess energy to get in touch with buyers. The parties can discuss prices online and can make delivery in the matter of a couple of minutes.
Spot markets are generally dominated by speculators as these markets convey latest transaction prices immediately. These markets may be government controlled or may be regulated by industry association. Alternatively, these spot markets can be under private control as well. Major instances of energy spot markets are National Balancing Point in the United Kingdom and Title Transfer Facility in the Netherlands.