Settlement price
The price at which the exchange revalues open positions at the end of a clearing session.
How to read the number
It is this price, not the last trade, that determines variation margin and the collateral required until the next session.
When the metric lies
In an illiquid series the settlement price is derived from a model rather than from trades. It can sit a long way from the price at which the position could actually have been closed.
Also known as: clearing price