Commodity Derivatives Research Articles

Does Financial Derivative Hedging Reduce Firms’ Financial Constraints?

This study examines the relationship between the firms’ derivative risk management and its financial constraints. Firms face a wedge between their internal and external financing for their investments. I test whether this wedge reduces firms’ financial constraints when they hedge using interest rate, foreign currency, and commodity derivatives. Using an event study and a difference-in-differences framework around implementing Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 123R, this study shows a strong causal relationship between derivative hedging and financial constraints. I find that net debt increases for the derivative hedging firms, on the other hand, cash holdings and net equity issuance decreases. When managers of non-financial corporations believe that their firm will face a liquidity shortage, they save more cash out of cash flow as a precautionary measure. Both cash flow-cash sensitivity and investment-cash flow sensitivity decrease. The analysis also shows that both the loan spread and the probability of covenant violation decrease after firms start derivative hedging. The main implication of the analysis is that risk management influences the asymmetric information between lenders and borrowers: the increase in risk management, the less the asymmetry.

Hedging price risk through commodity derivatives: a case of Sethi Jewellers

Learning outcomes After completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand the different risks associated with a business, focusing on price risk and the importance of price risk management in business; understand and evaluate the products available for hedging price risk through exchange-traded derivatives in the Indian scenario; and understand and evaluate the different strategies for price risk management through exchange-traded derivatives in the Indian scenario. Case overview/synopsis The case study pertains to a small business, M/s Sethi Jewellers. The enterprise is being run by Shri Charan Jeet Sethi and his son Tejinder Sethi. The business is located in Jain Bazar, Jammu, UT, in Northern India. The business was started in 1972 by Charan Jeet’s father. They deal in a wide range of jewelry products and are well-established jewelers known for selling quality ornaments. Tejinder (MBA in marketing) was instrumental in revamping his business recently. Under his leadership, the business has experienced rapid transformation. The business has grown from a one-room shop fully managed by Tejinder’s grandfather to a multistory showroom with several artisans, sales staff and security persons. Through his e-store, Tejinder has a bulk order from a client where the client requires him to accept the order with a small token at the current price and deliver the final product three months from now. Tejinder is in a dilemma about accepting or rejecting the large order. Second, if he accepts, should he buy the entire gold now or wait to buy it later at a lower price? He is also considering hedging the price risk through exchange-traded derivatives. However, he is not entirely sure, as he has a few apprehensions regarding the same, and he is also not fully aware of the process and the instruments he has to use for hedging the price risk on the exchange. Complexity academic level The case study is aimed to cater to undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA students in the field of finance. This case study can be used for students interested in commodity derivatives, risk management and market microstructure. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and finance.

Improving Skills Through Training in Freshwater Fish Farming and Crystal Guava Jam Production (Bantarjaya Village, Bogor Regency, West Java)

Fish farming is a type of fishing that involves cultivating various fish on land. Fish farming success can be influenced by site characteristics, water quality, fish suitability, and care. Crystal guava processing is a production utilization innovation. This has the potential to raise the value of crystal guava commodities, which can be consumed directly but are also processed into various derivative products. The community groups will be divided into two foster groups: the MSME group that makes crystal guava jam and the foster group that grows fish in irrigation ponds. This empowerment approach involves the creation of supporting infrastructure such as ponds in irrigation canals and the production of crystal guava jam. Then, using the t-test on the dependent mean and Principal Component Analysis, integrated training was carried out, including socializing and field practice, to quantify statistical development in abilities. As a result, the target community's understanding has increased. The target group (community) can increase their abilities in fish cultivation, the production of novel products (commodity derivatives), and marketing across various phases with the creation of supporting infrastructure.

Structural Dynamics of Indian Commodity Derivatives Market

"The inter temporal dimensions of an asset are examined through the price discovery function analysis of futures and spot price dynamics. The present study used Granger causality test and Chow test to analyze the price discovery function and the structural break of the agriculture, base metals, bullion, and energy commodities futures and spot prices during 2016-2022. The findings revealed the bidirectional causality between both the spot and future markets except gold exhibited unidirectional causality where the future market lead on the spot return is greater than contrary. Since the selected time period captures the crisis period, understanding the dynamic patterns is important for derivative valuation, hedging and asset allocation. The result of structural break revealed that among the selected commodities, only few commodities does not exhibit the structural break during the crisis period. This infer that the demand and supply for those commodities would exist in equilibrium condition and the shocks would not be transmitted to the price of commodities. The study makes recommendations for market participants to use arbitrage and hedging tactics. Additionally, it assists the regulators in assessing the steadiness of expanding commodity futures markets in India."

Analyzing the Performance of Diversified Commodity Derivatives Portfolios in Brazil

This paper seeks to investigate how we invest in commodity derivatives by comparing the performance of portfolios constructed using the mean-variance model, hierarchical risk parity, and the naive strategy with the stock market and the risk-free rate. For this purpose, daily closing future prices of ethanol, corn, cattle, gold, coffee, and soybeans traded in Brazil from 2015 to 2023 are considered, in addition to the rate of interbank deposit certificates (CDI or DI) and the performance of the theoretical portfolio. of shares in the Ibovespa index. The constructed portfolios are analyzed using the Sharpe Ratio, CVaR, Beta, and Maximum Drawdown metrics and the comparison of their returns. The results indicate that the portfolio constructed using the mean-variance model presented the lowest risk ratios and generated the highest return, followed by the hierarchical risk parity, the naive strategy, and the Ibovespa index. These findings are useful for scientific literature that investigates finance by bringing empirical evidence of Brazilian commodities to portfolio managers, investors, and other agents in the supply chain.

Significance and perspectives for development of commodity exchange trade in agricultural products

Exchanges are intermediaries in the trade of commodities, financial instruments that have commodities in their base or credit instruments that are secured by commodities. Commodity exchanges have gained in importance in recent decades. Commodity exchanges have evolved from the place where the physical purchase and sale of goods takes place to trade in commodity derivatives where standardized contracts−futures and options−are traded. The role of commodity exchanges in the development of the agribusiness sector has changed significantly from the initial stage of development when in the beginning the main role was to ensure efficient and transparent exchange of commodities, until the early 1970s when instruments were developed to enable risk management in the agribusiness sector. The largest volume of tradе on modern commodity exchanges is realized in standardized derivative contracts. Financial derivatives are one of the most successful financial innovations, with the volume of turnover increasing significantly. Within this chapter, special attention is paid to the analysis of the situation in the field of commodity exchange trading in the Western Balkan region. According to the results of the analysis, developed agricultural commodity exchange trade is not available to the farmers in these countries, nor are business risk management instruments available to participants in countries with developed commodity exchange systems. Analyses have shown that the sole commodity exchange with a significant volume of trade in the countries of the Western Balkans is the Novi Sad commodity exchange, trading on the spot and non‒standardized term market. In terms of the directions of development of regional commodity trade, the experience so far shows that high trading volume is a paramount for well‒developed commodity exchange. Therefore, the path to the development of commodity exchange trading is the establishment of a regional commodity exchange that would be a place of trade for all of the Western Balkan’s countries. By establishing a regional commodity exchange, participants in the agricultural sector would have the opportunity to securely and transparently trade and manage the price risk that have a pronounced volatility in recent years.

Four Commitments of Traders Reports puzzles, revisited: Answers from grains and oilseeds futures markets

The CFTC’s Commitments of Traders reports (DCOT and SCOT) are a key source of information about the open interest in commodity derivatives markets. While informative, these publications leave open four important questions. (1) Do traders that hold large positions every single day make up most of the total open interest? How big is that “market core”? (2) What is the relation between DCOT figures on swap dealer futures positions and CIT futures positions? (3) Are most futures traders long-only or short-only, or do they hold “mixed” positions? (4) Who makes up the fast-growing “Other Reportables” category that comprises all noncommercial market participants that are not managed money traders? We tackle those questions with regulatory data on futures positions in the four largest U.S. grain and oilseed markets in 2015–2018.

Price Discovery and Volatility Spillover: An Empirical Analysis of Indian Futures-Spot Cardamom Markets

Price discovery and its related volatility spillover effect are significant indicators in commodity derivatives market to hedge the risk against sharp price fluctuations. This study empirically analyses the price discovery and volatility spillover using vector error correction model, Granger causality and bivariate exponential GARCH model (EGARCH) in Indian cardamom spot-futures markets. Daily time series data of spot market and near month futures contracts spanning the period from January 2009 to December 2020 have been used for the study. These price series data are based on the authenticated sources of Multi Commodity Exchange. The results of vector error correction model supported by Granger causality test indicates that spot market plays the role of leader as it is more efficient in reflecting the new information to prices. The results of bivariate EGARCH (1,1) model show that volatility spillover from cardamom spot market to futures market is dominant.

Management of investment portfolios employing reinforcement learning.

Investors are presented with a multitude of options and markets for pursuing higher returns, a task that often proves complex and challenging. This study examines the effectiveness of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms in optimizing investment portfolios, comparing their performance with traditional strategies and benchmarking against American and Brazilian indices. Additionally, it was explore the impact of incorporating commodity derivatives into portfolios and the associated transaction costs. The results indicate that the inclusion of derivatives can significantly enhance portfolio performance while reducing volatility, presenting an attractive opportunity for investors. RL techniques also demonstrate superior effectiveness in portfolio optimization, resulting in an average increase of 12% in returns without a commensurate increase in risk. Consequently, this research makes a substantial contribution to the field of finance. It not only sheds light on the application of RL but also provides valuable insights for academia. Furthermore, it challenges conventional notions of market efficiency and modern portfolio theory, offering practical implications. It suggests that data-driven investment management holds the potential to enhance efficiency, mitigate conflicts of interest, and reduce biased decision-making, thereby transforming the landscape of financial investment.

The Financialization of Coffee, Cocoa and Cotton Value Chains: The Role of Physical Actors

ABSTRACTThe prices of cash crops impact the livelihoods of millions of households in developing countries. While the influence of speculators on global commodity prices determined through derivatives exchanges is extensively discussed, the contribution of hedgers to short‐term changes in futures prices has largely been disregarded in the financialization of commodities discourse over the past two decades. This results in a failure to account for the interconnected activities of increasingly consolidated lead firms within physical global value chains (GVCs) and derivatives markets. This article examines the pricing and hedging strategies of lead firms in the coffee, cocoa and cotton GVCs in relation to their activities on commodity derivatives markets. Based on Open Interest data as an indicator of derivatives markets activity, a measure of buying and selling pressure by trader categories is applied in a Generalized ARCH (GARCH) model. The findings of this article show that hedgers’ activities allow speculators to drive global benchmark prices so that they can benefit through combinations of financial hedging and physical trading strategies. As these practices of lead firms contribute to the transmission of futures prices along GVCs, smallholders and other actors in cash crops in producer countries are exposed to heightened price changes.

Options in Derivative Market: A Study on Working and Trends in Option Contracts

Indian derivative market is very vast market. Many assets,securities, products and services are offered in derivative market to the various traders and investors. In India derivative products are offered by both BSE (Bombay stock exchange) and NSE (national stock exchange). Derivatives are classified into two parts Commodity derivatives and financial derivatives. Commodity derivatives are dealt in commodities like soybean, turmeric, oats corns. Financial derivatives include securities, bonds, treasure, foreign exchange, stock index etc. All financial derivatives are performed with the help of futures; options .this paper manly concentrates option contracts. NSE and BSE are also dealt in futures and options. This paper only considers the trends and working of option contracts in BSE. Option contracts are a right to buy or sell security on or before expiry of period at a predetermined price which is called strike price. Options are not an obligation. Call option and put option are two basic positions which are used by trader to manage the risk of buying and selling of underlying asset or security. This paper shows the working and trends of options as indexed options and equity options in BSE.

Does commodity exposure benefit traditional portfolios? Evidence from India

Commodities and commodity futures are expected to benefit stock and bond portfolio diversification because traditional asset types like equities and bonds have low correlations with commodities. During periods when stocks and bonds may underperform, commodities may provide a hedge against inflation and other economic uncertainties. This study investigates the diversification benefits of adding commodities to a traditional portfolio of stock and bonds from the perspective of an Indian investor. It employs several commonly used asset allocation strategies such as mean-variance, equal risk contribution, most diversified portfolio, and equal weight portfolio on different commodity derivative groups. The performance of various portfolios indicates that not all commodity groups provide substantial diversification benefits to a traditional portfolio. Agricultural commodities enhance performance (with an Omega ratio of 1.654), whereas metal and energy-related commodities do not diversify the traditional portfolio significantly (Omega ratio of 1.087 and 0.945, respectively). Gold and different equity sectors also provide some diversification benefits. This study also supports the hypothesis that the behavior of different commodity groups is quite different. AcknowledgmentThe infrastructural support provided by the FORE School of Management, New Delhi, in completing this paper is gratefully acknowledged.

Risk return profile of commodity derivatives: an investors perception

This article provides an overview of the literature on the commodity market, with a particular focus on the risk of commodity investment. The sources of return in the commodity market are examined, as well as the impact of various macroeconomic factors such as interest rates and inflation on the return. The commodity market is an increasingly popular investment opportunity for investors looking to diversify their portfolio. However, investing in commodities is not without risk. The volatility of commodity prices can lead to significant losses for investors, especially those who are not familiar with the market. One of the primary sources of return in the commodity market is through price appreciation. This is driven by supply and demand factors, such as changes in weather patterns, geopolitical events, and changes in consumer tastes. In addition, commodities can also generate returns through passive income, such as through rental income from real estate or dividends from stocks. Interest rates and inflation are two key macroeconomic factors that can have a significant impact on the return of commodity investments. Higher interest rates can lead to lower commodity prices, as investors seek out higher yield investments. Inflation can also impact the return of commodity investments, as it can lead to higher prices for raw materials and other inputs. For wheat, corn, and soybean futures, seasonality of return is an important consideration for investors. The prices of these commodities are often influenced by seasonal factors, such as weather patterns and harvest cycles. Understanding these seasonality patterns can help investors make more informed investment decisions. In conclusion, this study is mostly descriptive in nature, providing an overview of the literature on the commodity market and the risks associated with commodity investment. The impact of various macroeconomic factors, such as interest rates and inflation, on the return of commodity investments is also examined. Finally, the seasonality of return for wheat, corn, and soybean futures is discussed as an important consideration for investors.

Indian Commodity Derivatives Market : A Performance Review

Indian Commodity Derivatives Market : A Performance Review

A Study to Identify the Commodity Characteristics towards A Potential Derivative Contract on Tea

In this study, we examine the determinants of a successful derivative futures contract and explore whether an exhaustive checklist of criteria such as the one proposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) guarantees the success of a commodity contract. This study has important implications for contract design and new product launches. More market-orientated risk management mechanisms such as hedging via derivatives could allow farmers and producers to manage their risk and efficiently discover true prices. The government's vision to develop a progressive and sustainable commodities market in India is facing a fundamental issue: What makes a futures contract successful? This study attempts to analyse this question. Academics and policymakers have long deliberated on the conditions that make a contract successful. This study revisits those conditions in the context of Indian agricultural futures contracts and assesses the dispositions made by the SEBI’s long list of criteria as well as insights from prior studies about the determinants of a successful contract. Tea satisfies almost all the criteria with either first or second rank among the three compared products. Therefore, we can conclude that Tea has the necessary and potential characteristics for introduction in the Commodity Derivative Market of India and progress forward as a successful commodity

The Impact of the Stock Market on Liquidity and Economic Growth: Evidence of Volatile Market

Stock markets serve as a conduit for money and liquidity, which are necessary for economic growth and stability. This study aimed to determine whether stock market impacts are communicated in an economically unstable environment, characterised by volatility, high inflation rates, and political instability. The research used a time series Vector Autoregressive model (VAR) with quarterly data from between 2013 and 2022. The study revealed that there is a positive statistically significant association between the stock market and economic growth at the 10% level. On the other hand, the stock market liquidity has no major influence on Zimbabwe’s economic development. As a result, the study advises policymakers to evaluate the rules regulating the stock market carefully and to relax some of the requirements for firms to be listed on the stock exchange. The stock market will become more liquid as a result of this because it will draw more internal and external businesses to being listed. The ZSE should also develop a framework for the gradual implementation of the commodity derivatives exchange as Zimbabwe’s substantial mineral reserves and robust agriculture may bring significant income to the country’s economy.

Dynamic Correlation between Weather Derivatives and Agricultural Commodity Derivatives: Evidence from the US

Dynamic Correlation between Weather Derivatives and Agricultural Commodity Derivatives: Evidence from the US

Market Efficiency of Commodity Derivatives with Reference to Nonagricultural Commodities

Market Efficiency of Commodity Derivatives with Reference to Nonagricultural Commodities

Inception of Agri-Derivatives Market for Protecting the Farmers of Bangladesh from Price Risk: A Chattogram Perspective

This study aims to explore the necessity of developing agricultural commodity derivatives market in Bangladesh, a South Asian country, where fluctuation in price of essential agricultural commodities has become a regular phenomenon. No market mechanism is there by which farmers can get protection against the risk arising from price fluctuation in the country. As such, frequent loss incurred from such adverse price movement is de-motivating many of them to switch their profession. In this study data from both sources, primary and secondary, has been used. Primary data has been collected through the use of structured questionnaire and has been analyzed through descriptive statistics. The study reveals that with an opportunity of prefixing the price during the time of cultivation almost all of the respondents expect that they would not worry regarding a price decline, would be able to recover their production cost, would get their expected level of price, would be able to ensure fair price and predict the price they would get after harvesting more accurately. This implies that they desires for a market mechanism through which they would be able to get protection against the decline in price and it is the agricultural derivatives market that can fulfill their desire well. This study would help the policy makers and expect to inspire them to conduct a survey at large scale so that proper steps can be taken for the successful inception of agricultural derivatives market in the country that would benefit the farmers of the country.

A closed-form approximation for pricing spread options on futures under a mean-reverting spot price model with multiscale stochastic volatility

Abstract Commodity spot prices tend to revert to some long-term mean level and most commodity derivatives are based on futures prices, not on spot prices. So, we consider spread options on futures instead of spot or spot index, where the log spot price follows a mean-reverting process. The volatility of the mean-reverting process is driven by two different (fast and slow) scale factors. We use asymptotic analysis to obtain a closed-form approximation of the futures prices and a closed-form formula for the approximate prices of spread options on the futures. The overall improvement of our analytic formula over the classical Kirk–Bjerksund–Sternsland (KBS) formula is discussed via numerical experiments.