The efficiency of financial futures markets: Tests of prediction accuracy

The prices of financial futures contracts can be interpreted as forecasts of the spot rates, which will apply at the final delivery date of that contract. Financial futures contracts have been traded daily since the early 1980s and provide a substantial bank of data to test the forecasting efficiency of such contracts. Tests are carried out to examine whether the interest rates implied by the futures price for eurodollar and short sterling contracts are cointegrated with the final settlement price over forecasting horizons of 1, 2 and 3 months. Similar analysis is carried out for the yen/dollar exchange rate futures contract. The paper then examines the forecasting performance of the three contracts over the forecasting horizons of 1, 2 and 3 months and in particular whether the forecasts implied by the futures contract provide better predictions than the naı̈ve no-change (i.e. random walk), a vector error correction model (VECM) or an ARIMA model.An examination of the relative efficiency of the markets for the three markets over the three time horizons is carried out and finally trading strategies are simulated to see whether excess profits can be achieved. In fact the results suggest that both profits and losses would be attracted.     

交易者异质性与期货市场动态关系的仿真研究

本文构建了一个基于异质性交易者的投机性期货市场仿真模型,从交易者微观行为的角度分析市场价格的动态特征。市场中有限理性的交易者具有异质性信念和不同的学习能力。个体预期不断调整,市场根据密封拍卖机制出清,期货价格随之变化。仿真结果表明,价格的波动与市场中大投机交易者的活动密切相关。仿真能够再现期货价格波动高峰厚尾。长记忆等特征。噪声交易者在市场中的生存,取决于外部信息流对市场的影响过程以及其他交易者的行为.本文是采用计算金融学仿真方法研究衍生产品市场的一种尝试,也为此领域的研究者在模型的实现上提供了另外一种容易实现的途径。     

Utility indifference pricing and hedging for structured contracts in energy markets

In this paper we study the pricing and hedging of structured products in energy markets, such as swing and virtual gas storage, using the exponential utility indifference pricing approach in a general incomplete multivariate market model driven by finitely many stochastic factors. The buyer of such contracts is allowed to trade in the forward market in order to hedge the risk of his position. We fully characterize the buyer’s utility indifference price of a given product in terms of continuous viscosity solutions of suitable nonlinear PDEs. This gives a way to identify reasonable candidates for the optimal exercise strategy for the structured product as well as for the corresponding hedging strategy. Moreover, in a model with two correlated assets, one traded and one nontraded, we obtain a representation of the price as the value function of an auxiliary simpler optimization problem under a risk neutral probability, that can be viewed as a perturbation of the minimal entropy martingale measure. Finally, numerical results are provided.     

A note on arbitrage‐free pricing of forward contracts in energy markets

Arbitrage theory is used to price forward (futures) contracts in energy markets, where the underlying assets are non‐tradeable. The method is based on the so‐called ‘fitting of the yield curve’ technique from interest rate theory. The spot price dynamics of Schwartz is generalized to multidimensional correlated stochastic processes with Wiener and Lévy noise. Findings are illustrated with examples from oil and electricity markets.     

Optimal crop planting schedules and financial hedging strategies under ENSO-based climate forecasts

This paper investigates the impact of ENSO-based climate forecasts on optimal planting schedules and financial yield-hedging strategies in a framework focused on downside risk. In our context, insurance and futures contracts are available to hedge against yield and price risks, respectively. Furthermore, we adopt the Conditional-Value-at-Risk (CVaR) measure to assess downside risk, and Gaussian copula to simulate scenarios of correlated non-normal random yields and prices. The resulting optimization problem is a mixed 0?C1 integer programming formulation that is solved efficiently through a two-step procedure, first through an equivalent linear form by disjunctive constraints, followed by decomposition into sub-problems identified by hedging strategies. With data for a representative cotton producer in the Southeastern United States, we conduct a study that considers a wide variety of optimal planting schedules and hedging strategies under alternative risk profiles for each of the three ENSO phases (Niña, Niño, and Neutral.) We find that the Neutral phase generates the highest expected profit with the lowest downside risk. In contrast, the Niña phase is associated with the lowest expected profit and the highest downside risk. Additionally, yield-hedging insurance strategies are found to vary significantly, depending critically on the ENSO phase and on the price bias of futures contracts.     

The dynamics of the relationship between spot and futures markets under high and low variance regimes

This investigation is one of the first studies to examine the dynamics of the relationship between spot and futures markets using the Markov‐switching vector error correction model. Three mature stock markets including the U.S. S&P500, the U.K. FTSE100 and the German DAX 30, and two emerging markets including the Brazil Bovespa and the Hungary BSI, are used to test the model, and the differences between the two sets of markets are examined. The empirical findings of this study are consistent with the following notions. First, after filtering out the high variance regime, the futures price is shown to lead the spot price in the price discovery process, as demonstrated by prior studies; conversely, the spot market is more informationally efficient than the futures market under the high variance condition. Second, the price adjustment process triggered by arbitrage trading between spot and futures markets during a high variance state is greater in scale than that based on a low variance state, and the degree of the co‐movement between spot and futures markets is significantly reduced during the high variance state. Third, a crisis condition involved in the high variance state is defined for the two emerging markets, whereas an unusual condition is presented for the three mature markets. Last, the lagged spot–futures price deviations perform as an information variable for the variance‐turning process. However, the portion of the variance‐switching process accounted for by this signal variable is statistically marginal for the three mature markets selected for this study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于综合流动性度量指标的中国期货市场流动性溢价研究

本文从流动性成本、流动性波动和到期日三个角度出发构建了衡量期货市场的综合流动性度量指标,并利用该指标对中国期货市场的流动性溢价问题进行研究。实证结果表明,流动性水平的差异对不同到期日期货合约的收益差异的影响存在差异性,当期流动性水平差异及其滞后期对收益差额的波动影响显著,其中,期货铜和铝市场中流动性对收益差额的影响存在过度反应→适度矫正的过程。     

中美燃料油期货价格引导研究

本文利用ADF单整检验、EG协整检验、误差修正模型、引导关系检验等方法研究中美燃料油期货价格之间的互动关系,结果表明:我国燃料油期货在价格和价格收益方面均与国际燃料油市场存在明显的即时引导关系;国际燃料油期货市场上的价格变动对国内燃料油期货价格以及价格收益的变动具有单向的滞后引导作用;我国燃料油期货市场的价格和收益方面的信息对于国际市场几乎不产生影响,我国尚不具备制定价格的话语权。     

基于时变SJC-Copula对商品期货市场间风险传染的探究

分别选取WIND商品指数和CRB指数作为衡量我国商品期货市场及国际商品期货市场综合价格的指标,利用时变SJC-Copula模型构建两者之间的动态相依结构,通过动态的尾部相关系数来探究我国商品期货市场与国际市场间的尾部相关性.实证结果表明,我国商品期货市场与国际市场间的上尾相关性要强于下尾相关性,即当商品期货价格上涨时,两个市场间更易发生风险传染.     

Futures markets,production and diversification of risk

This paper lays out a framework for the analysis of the risk transfer role of speculators on futures markets and the impact of their trading on the production decisions of firms. We show that when speculators diversify their portfolios over a large number of markets, the equilibrium risk premium converges to an asymptotic premium, the behaviour of which is determined by the stochastic dependence between the spot price and an index of average returns on other markets—the idiosyncratic risk arising from the variability of the spot price itself is diversified away. In the independent and negatively dependent cases this diversification of risk leads to a Pareto improving property.     

Combining guaranteed and spot markets in display advertising: Selling guaranteed page views with stochastic demand

While page views are often sold instantly through real-time auctions when users visit websites, they can also be sold in advance via guaranteed contracts. In this paper, we present a dynamic programming model to study how an online publisher should optimally allocate and price page views between guaranteed and spot markets. The problem is challenging because the allocation and pricing of guaranteed contracts affect how advertisers split their purchases between the two markets, and the terminal value of the model is endogenously determined by the updated dual force of supply and demand in auctions. We take the advertisers’ purchasing behaviour into consideration, i.e., risk aversion and stochastic demand arrivals, and present a scalable and efficient algorithm for the optimal solution. The model is also empirically validated with a commercial dataset. The experimental results show that selling page views via both channels can increase the publisher’s expected total revenue, and the optimal pricing and allocation strategies are robust to different market and advertiser types.     

Multifractal features of EUA and CER futures markets by using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis based on empirical model decomposition

Basing on daily price data of carbon emission rights in futures markets of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) and European Union Allowances (EUA), we analyze the multiscale characteristics of the markets by using empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MFDFA) based on EMD. The complexity of the daily returns of CER and EUA futures markets changes with multiple time scales and multilayered features. The two markets also exhibit clear multifractal characteristics and long-range correlation. We employ shuffle and surrogate approaches to analyze the origins of multifractality. The long-range correlations and fat-tail distributions significantly contribute to multifractality. Furthermore, we analyze the influence of high returns on multifractality by using threshold method. The multifractality of the two futures markets is related to the presence of high values of returns in the price series.     

Learning dynamic causal relationships among sugar prices

In this paper, we are interested in exploring the dynamic causal relationships among two sets of three variables in different quarters. One set is futures sugar closing price in Zhengzhou futures exchange market (ZC), spot sugar price in Zhengzhou (ZS) and futures sugar closing price in New York futures exchange market(NC) and the other includes futures sugar opening price in Zhengzhou (ZO), ZS and NC. For each quarter, we first use Bayesian model selection to obtain the optimal causal graph with the highest BD scores and then use Bayesian model averaging approach to explore the causal relationship between every two variables. From the real data analysis, the two conclusions almost coincide, which shows that the two methods are practical.     

国际铜期货市场整合：沪铜国际影响凸显

本文运用含协整残差的双变量EGARCH模型,研究上海SHFE和伦敦LME铜期货市场的动态整合关系.统计结果显示两个市场的收益及其风险存在对称的溢出效应,全球铜市供求因素驱动最新收益和风险信息在两者之间传递。沪铜期货有突出的国际定价影响.在全球24小时交易中,LME和SHFE交替成为国际铜价的主要信息来源.SHFE和LME市场的收益变化均以对方市场的影响为主;市场风险则以本市场的影响为主.影响两个市场动态整合度的因素有滞后一期的市场风险、沪铜成交量、伦铜的超额收益等。     

Contract design and supply chain coordination in the electricity industry

In this article we propose a model of the supply chain in electricity markets with multiple generators and retailers and considering several market structures. We analyze how market design interacts with the different types of contract and market structure to affect the coordination between the different firms and the performance of the supply chain as a whole. We compare the implications on supply chain coordination and on the players’ profitability of two different market structures: a pool based market vs. bilateral contracts, taking into consideration the relationship between futures and spot markets. Furthermore, we analyze the use of contracts for differences and two-part-tariffs as tools for supply chain coordination. We have concluded that there are multiple equilibria in the supply chain contracts and structure and that the two-part tariff is the best contract to reduce double marginalization and increase efficiency in the management of the supply chain.     

上海燃料油期货市场价格发现功能的实证研究

本文利用协整检验、Granger因果检验、误差修正模型和Garbade-Silber模型对上海燃料油期货的价格发现功能进行了探讨,分析了期货与现货价格之间的相互关系,刻画了期货与现货市场在价格发现功能中作用的大小,并由此说明上海燃料油期货市场的效率。结果表明,燃料油的期货价格与现货价格之间存在协整关系,期货市场具有良好的价格发现功能,这对我国建设完整的石油期货市场具有指导意义。     

Optimal procurement strategies for online spot markets

Spot markets have emerged for a broad range of commodities, and companies have started to use them in addition to their traditional, long-term procurement contracts (forward contracts). In comparison to forward contracts, spot markets offer products at essentially negligible lead time, but typically command a higher expected price for this added flexibility while also exhibiting substantial price uncertainty. In our research, we analyze the resulting procurement challenge and quantify the benefits of using spot markets from a supply chain perspective. We develop and solve mathematical models that determine the optimal order quantity to purchase via forward contracts and the optimal quantity to purchase via spot markets. We analyze the most general situation where commodities can be both bought and sold via a spot market and derive closed-form results for this case. We compare the obtained results to the reference scenario of pure contract sourcing and we include results for situations where the use of spot markets is restricted to either buying or selling only. Our approaches can be used by decision makers to determine optimal procurement strategies based on key parameters such as, demand and spot price volatilities, correlation between demand and spot prices, and risk aversion. The results of our analysis demonstrate that significant profit improvements can be achieved if a moderate fraction of the commodity demand is procured via spot markets. The results also show that companies who use spot markets can offer a higher expected service level, but that they might experience a higher variability in profits than companies who do not use spot markets. We illustrate our analytical results with numerical examples throughout the paper.     

中国股指期货市场流动性非线性特征分析与波动趋势预测

针对中国股指期货市场的流动性问题,利用多重分形去趋势波动法研究股指期货市场流动性非线性特征及其成因,并对比分析不同期限下期货市场流动性多重分形程度的差异;进一步,采用趋势熵维数方法识别期货市场流动性的变化趋势,还利用识别正确率和随机识别正确率验证该方法有效性和准确性。研究发现,中国股指期货市场具有明显的多重分形特征;与合约期限较短的股指期货相比,合约期限较长的股指期货流动性多重分形程度更低;股指期货市场流动性多重分形特征主要是流动性时间序列的相关多重分形和分布多重分形造成的;趋势熵维数方法可有效预测期货市场流动性的变化趋势。     

Bidding under price uncertainty in multi-unit pay-as-bid procurement auctions for power systems reserve

In this paper a methodology for profit maximized bidding under price uncertainty in a day-ahead, multi-unit and pay-as-bid procurement auction for power systems reserve is proposed. Within this novel methodology a bidder is considered to follow a Bayes-strategy. Thereby, one bidder is assumed to behave strategically and the behavior of the remaining is summarized in a probability distribution of the market price and a reaction function to price dumping by the strategic bidder. With this approach two problems arise: First, as a pay-as-bid auction is considered, no uniform price and therefore no single probability distribution of the market price is readily available. Second, if historic bidding data of all participants are used to estimate such a distribution and market power is a relevant factor, the bid of the strategically behaving bidder is likely to influence the distribution. Within this paper for both of the problems solutions are presented. It is shown that by estimating a probability of acceptance the optimal bidding price with respect to a given capacity can be calculated by maximizing a stochastic non-linear objective function of expected profit. Taking the characteristics of recently established markets in Germany into account, the methodology is applied using exemplary data. It is shown that the methodology helps to manage existing price uncertainties and hence supports the trading decisions of a bidder. It is inferred that the developed methodology may also be used for bidding on other auction markets with a similar market design.     

中国棉花期货市场价格发现功能研究

期货市场和现货市场之间的价格发现功能一直是监管部门和投资者十分关心的问题。本文借助信息共享模型、脉冲响应函数和方差分解等方法，对中国棉花期货市场和现货市场的价格关系进行了实证研究。研究结果表明：棉花期货价格和现货价格之间存在显著的双向引导关系和长期均衡关系；期货市场和现货市场都扮演价格发现角色，且期货市场在价格发现中处于主导地位。