# Rolling Futures Contracts > Rolling moves a futures position from an expiring contract to a later one. Learn when to roll, how to use calendar spreads, roll costs and common roll schedules. Source: https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/rolling-futures-contracts/ Track: Futures · Level: Intermediate · Updated: 2026-10-03 Publisher: TradeLabs AI (https://tradelabsai.com). Education, not financial advice. Cite as: TradeLabs Learn, "Rolling Futures Contracts", https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/rolling-futures-contracts/ Because every futures contract expires, anyone who wants to hold a position longer than one contract's life must roll it: close the expiring contract and open the same position in a later month. Rolling is routine for index futures traders, commodity funds and hedgers. Done well, it is cheap and smooth. Done carelessly, it can mean trading in thin markets, paying wide spreads or accidentally ending up in the delivery process. ## How a roll works To roll a long position, you sell the near contract and buy the far contract. To roll a short, you buy the near and sell the far. The two trades can be done separately or, better, as a single calendar spread order. **Example: Rolling E-mini S&P 500 futures** You hold 3 long ESZ6 (December) contracts. A week before expiry, you roll to ESH7 (March). The calendar spread trades with March 45 points above December. You place one spread order: sell 3 December, buy 3 March at a spread of 45. You now hold 3 March contracts at a price 45 points higher than where you sold December. That difference reflects about three months of financing cost minus dividends, not a loss. Your exposure to the index is unchanged. See [Calendar Spreads in Futures](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/calendar-spreads-in-futures/). ## When to roll | Contract type | Typical roll timing | |---|---| | Equity index futures | About 8 days before expiry; CME's "roll date" is the Thursday before the week of expiry | | Physically delivered commodities | Before first notice day, often several days to weeks before | | Treasury futures | Before first notice day at the end of the month before the contract month | | Currency futures | A few days before the last trading day | Watch volume and open interest: when the next contract's volume overtakes the expiring one, liquidity has moved. See [First Notice Day and Last Trading Day](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/first-notice-day/) and [Options Open Interest Analysis](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/options/options-open-interest-analysis/). ## Why use a calendar spread order - **One price:** avoids moving markets between legs, known as leg risk. - **Tighter costs:** exchanges list spread markets with their own order books, often with narrow spreads. - **Lower margin** during the roll. ## Roll costs and roll yield The price difference between months is not itself a gain or loss; it reflects carry. But over time, rolling in a contango market costs money when spot is flat, and rolling in backwardation earns money. This is roll yield. See [Roll Yield](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/roll-yield/), [Contango](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/contango/) and [Backwardation](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/backwardation/). Explicit costs include commissions and exchange fees for both legs and the bid ask spread of the spread market. See [Roll Costs](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/orders/roll-costs/). ## Roll schedules for funds and indices Commodity index funds publish roll schedules. For example, the S&P GSCI has historically rolled over the fifth to ninth business days of each month, a period known as the "Goldman roll". Because these rolls are predictable and large, some traders try to front run them, which can widen spreads during roll periods. Many funds now spread rolls over more days or use later months to reduce this. See [Continuous Futures and Back-Adjustment](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/continuous-futures/). ## Choosing which month to roll into Not every roll has to go to the next month: - **Liquidity:** the next month is usually most liquid. - **Curve shape:** in steep contango, rolling to a later month can reduce roll costs. - **Seasonality:** in commodities like natural gas, different months behave very differently. See [Seasonality in Commodities](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/commodities/seasonality-in-commodities/). - **Hedging needs:** match the contract to the timing of the exposure being hedged. ## Rolling options on futures Options on futures are tied to specific underlying contracts. Rolling a futures position does not roll related options; they must be managed separately, and options may expire before the futures do. ## Common mistakes - **Forgetting to roll** and entering the delivery process. - **Rolling legs separately** in a fast market. - **Rolling at the last minute** when liquidity has already moved. - **Treating the calendar spread price as a loss** instead of carry. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does it mean to roll a futures contract? To close a position in an expiring contract and open the same position in a later contract month, keeping exposure continuous. ### When should I roll E-mini S&P 500 futures? Usually about a week before expiry, around CME's roll date, when volume shifts to the next quarterly contract. ### Does rolling futures cost money? There are commissions and spread costs, and in contango markets rolling tends to reduce returns over time if spot prices stay flat. Next, learn how the shape of the curve affects returns in [Roll Yield](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/roll-yield/). ## Continue learning - Next lesson: [Roll Yield](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/roll-yield/) - Previous lesson: [Backwardation](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/backwardation/) - Related: [Backwardation](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/backwardation/): Backwardation is when later futures trade below nearer ones or spot. Learn the causes, convenience yield, positive roll yield and what it signals about supply. - Related: [Roll Yield](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/roll-yield/): Roll yield is the return from futures converging toward spot as they near expiry. Learn how contango and backwardation drive it and how to estimate it. - Related: [Contract Months and Expiration](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/contract-months-and-expiration/): Futures trade in specific contract months with letter codes and fixed expiry rules. Learn month codes, the front month, quarterly cycles and how expiry works. - Related: [First Notice Day and Last Trading Day](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/first-notice-day/): First notice day is when sellers can start delivering on physically settled futures. Learn what it means, how it differs from last trading day and how to plan. - Related: [Calendar Spreads in Futures](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/futures/calendar-spreads-in-futures/): A futures calendar spread buys one contract month and sells another. Learn bull and bear spreads, what moves them, seasonality and a worked crude oil example. - Related: [Roll Costs](https://learn.tradelabsai.com/orders/roll-costs/): Rolling futures from one month to the next can cost or earn money. Learn how roll costs arise in contango and backwardation and how they affect futures ETFs.