Futures Prices and the Expected Future Spot Prices of Selected South African Financial Futures Contracts: A Note

2003 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-132
Author(s):  
J de K Keyser ◽  
E vd M Smit
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Krause

This chapter examines the relation between futures prices relative to the spot price of the underlying asset. Basic futures pricing is characterized by the convergence of futures and spot prices during the delivery period just before contract expiration. However, “no arbitrage” arguments that dictate the fair value of futures contracts largely determine pricing relations before expiration. Although the cost of carry model in its various forms largely determines futures prices before expiration, the chapter presents alternative explanations. Related commodity futures complexes exhibit mean-reverting behavior, as seen in commodity spread markets and other interrelated commodities. Energy commodity futures prices can be somewhat accurately modeled as a generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedastic (GARCH) process, although whether these models provide economically significant excess returns is uncertain.


2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-109
Author(s):  
Mark J. Holmes ◽  
Jesús Otero

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the informational efficiency of Arabica (other milds) and Robusta coffee futures markets in terms of predicting future coffee spot prices. Design/methodology/approach Futures market efficiency is associated with the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between spot and future prices such that coffee futures prices are unbiased predictors of future spot prices. This study applies unit root testing to daily data for futures-spot price differentials. A range of maturities for futures contracts are considered, and the study also uses a recursive approach to consider time variation in futures market efficiency. Findings The other milds and Robusta futures prices tend to be unbiased predictors for their own respective spot prices. The paper further finds that other milds and Robusta futures prices are unbiased predictors of the respective Robusta and other milds spot prices. Recursive estimation suggests that the futures market efficiency associated with these cross cases has increased, though with no clear link to the implementation of the 2007 International Coffee Agreement. Originality/value The paper draws new insights into futures market efficiency by examining the two key types of coffee and analyses the potential interactions between them. Hitherto, no attention has been paid to futures contracts of the Robusta variety. The employment of unit root testing of spot futures coffee price differentials can be viewed as more stringent than an approach based on non-cointegration testing.


1990 ◽  
Vol 21 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
M. J. Page

There are two principal theories of commodity futures prices. The theory of storage, which explains the difference between contemporaneous futures and spot prices (the basis) in terms of interest rates, warehousing costs, and convenience yields, and the theory of forecast power and premium, which is based on the assumption that the futures price is a biased estimate of the expected spot price. This research paper examines the applicability of the two theories to the pricing of short term gold futures contracts. The findings suggest that, in terms of the theory of storage, the basis variability is explained principally by interest rate changes for contracts of between three and six months duration, while for one-month contracts varying convenience yields appear to be the dominant factor. The low basis variability of gold futures contracts results in inconclusive findings with respect to the theory of forecast power and premium. There is, however, evidence to suggest that the basis contains some ability to predict the expected premium or bias.


The present study explored the relationship between spot and futures coffee prices. The Correlation and Regression analysis were carried out based on monthly observations of International Coffee Organization (ICO) indicator prices of the four groups (Colombian Milds, Other Milds, Brazilian Naturals, and Robustas) representing Spot markets and the averages of 2nd and 3rd positions of the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) New York for Arabica and ICE Europe for Robusta representing the Futures market for the period 1990 to 2019. The study also used the monthly average prices paid to coffee growers in India from 1990 to 2019. The estimated correlation coefficients indicated both the Futures prices and Spot prices of coffee are highly correlated. Further, estimated regression coefficients revealed a very strong relationship between Futures prices and Spot prices for all four ICO group indicator prices. Hence, the ICE New York (Arabica) and ICE Europe (Robusta) coffee futures prices are very closely related to Spot prices. The estimated regression coefficients between Futures prices and the price paid to coffee growers in India confirmed the positive relationship, but the dispersion of more prices over the trend line indicates a lesser degree of correlation between the price paid to growers at India and Futures market prices during the study period.


2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-386
Author(s):  
Johan de Beer

The introduction of single stock futures to a market allows for a per company impact-assessment of futures trading activity. Thirty-eight South African companies were evaluated in terms of a possible price and volume effect due to the initial trading of their respective single stock futures contracts. An event study revealed that SSF trading had little impact on the underlying share prices while a normalised volume comparison pre to post SSF trading showed a general increase in spot market trading volumes.


1998 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Smit ◽  
E. V.D.M. Smit

International and local research in share markets offered evidence of a holiday effect. Pre-holiday mean returns are significantly higher than on other trading days. The holiday effect cannot be separated from the weekend effect, as holidays which fall on Fridays and Mondays also influence the weekend analysis. Both these effects exist in their own right. Research on international futures markets supports the existence of a holiday effect. The present study investigates the holiday effect on daily returns of the All Gold Near Futures contract, the All Industrial Near Futures contract and the All Share Near Futures contract in the South African futures market. A distinction is made between pre-holidays, post-holidays and non-holidays. None of the near futures contracts exhibit a significant holiday effect, although signs of a holiday effect are present. It is further shown that the month-end effect is not strongly influenced by the holiday effect. It is also concluded that the pre-holiday effects are not large enough to be exploited on an on-going basis in the South African futures market.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1359
Author(s):  
Xianfang Su ◽  
Huiming Zhu ◽  
Xinxia Yang

The causal relationships between spot and futures crude oil prices have attracted the attention of many researchers in the past several decades. Most of the studies, however, do not distinguish among the various oil market situations in analyses of linear and nonlinear causalities. In light of the fact that a booming or depressing oil market produces heterogeneous investment behaviors, this study applied a quantile causality framework to capture different causalities across various quantile levels and found that the causal relationships between crude oil spot and futures prices significantly derive from tail quantile intervals and appear as heterogeneous effects. Before the Iraq War, crude oil spot and futures prices were mutually Granger-caused at lower quantile levels, and only futures prices led spot prices at upper quantile levels. Since the war, a clear bidirectional causality has existed at the upper quantile levels, but only in lower quantile levels have futures prices led spot prices. These results provide useful information to investors using crude spot or futures prices to hedge or manage downside or upside risks in their portfolios.


2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-100
Author(s):  
Seok Kyu Kang

This study is to examine the unblasedness hypothesis and hedging effectiveness in KOSPI20() futures market. The unbiasedness and efficiency hypothesis is carried out using a cointegration methodology. And hedging effectiveness is measured by comparing hedging performance of the naive hedge model, OLS hedge model. and constant correlation bivariate GARCH (1. 1) hedge model based on rolling windows. The sample period covers from May. 3. 1996 to December. 8, 2005. The empirical results are summarized as follows: First, there exists the cOintegrating relationship between realized spot prices and futures prices of the 10 day. 22 day. 44 day. and 59 day prior to maturity. Second. futures prices of backward the 10 day. 22 day. 44 day from maturity provide unbiased forecasts of the realized spot prices. The KOSPI200 futures price is likely to predict accurately future KOSPI200 spot prices without the trader having to pay a risk premium for the privilege of trading the contract. Third. for shorter maturity. the futures price appears to be the best forecaster of spot price. Forth, bivariate GARCH hedging effectiveness outperforms the naive and OLS hedging effectiveness. The implications of these findings show that KOSPI200 futures market behaves as unbiased predictor of future spot price and risk management instrument of KOSPI200 spot portfolio.


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