Time‐varying market price of risk in the crude oil futures market

In this study, a three‐factor model of crude oil prices is estimated, which incorporates a time‐varying market price of risk. The model is able to accurately capture the term structure of futures prices with evidence suggesting that risk premiums in the crude oil market are time‐varying. Using the cross‐section of futures prices, we estimate a time‐series of the market price of risk in the crude oil market implied by the model. We find that the risk premiums in the crude oil market are driven by the same risk factors as equity and bond markets. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 31:779–807, 2011     

Optimal margin level in futures markets: Extreme price movements

Along with price limits and capital requirements, the margin mechanism ensures the integrity of futures markets. Margin committees and brokers in futures markets face a trade-off when setting the margin level. A high level protects brokers against insolvent customers and thus reinforces market integrity, but it also increases the cost supported by investors and in the end makes the market less attractive. This article develops a new method for setting the margin level in futures markets. It is based on “extreme value theory,” which gives interesting results on the distribution of extreme values of a random process. This extreme value distribution is used to compute the margin level for a given probability value of margin violation desired by margin committees or brokers. Extreme movements are central to the margin-setting problem, because only a large price variation may cause brokers to incur losses. An empirical study using prices of silver futures contracts traded on COMEX is also presented. The comparison of the extreme value method with a method based on normality shows that using normality leads to dramatic underestimates of the margin level. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 19: 127–152, 1999     

Forecasting futures returns in the presence of price limits

In a futures market with a daily price‐limit rule, trading occurs only at prices within limits determined by the previous day's settlement price. Price limits are set in dollars but can be expressed as return limits. When the daily return limit is triggered, the true equilibrium futures return (and price) is unobservable. In such a market, investors may suffer from information loss if the return “moves the limit.” Assuming normally distributed futures returns with unknown means but known volatilities, we develop a Bayesian forecasting model in the presence of return limits and provide some numerical predictions. Our innovation is the derivation of the predictive density for futures returns in the presence of return limits. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 25:199–210, 2005     

The stock closing calland futures price behavior: Evidence from the Taiwan futures market

This study examines the behavior of futures prices around stock market close before and after changes to the batching period of the stock closing call. On July 1, 2002, the Taiwan Stock Exchange expanded the length of the batching period roughly 10‐fold, from an average of 30 seconds to 5 minutes. This change presents an opportunity to analyze how a stock closing method affects the behavior of index futures prices. Empirical results indicate that an increase in the length of the batching period affects the return volatility and trading volume of index futures contracts around stock market close. Furthermore, preclose stock returns have a great impact on extended futures returns when the batching period of the stock closing call is long. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 27:1003–1019, 2007     

Market efficiency among futures with different maturities: Evidence from the crude oil futures market

Although many studies have investigated market efficiency of spot and futures prices, that among futures with different maturities has not been studied extensively. In this study, market efficiency and unbiasedness among such futures are defined and the concept of “consistently efficient (or consistently efficient and unbiased) market within n‐month maturity” is introduced. According to this definition, market efficiency and unbiasedness among WTI futures with different maturities are tested using cointegration analysis, and short‐term market efficiency, using an error correction model and GARCH‐M‐ECM. The results show that WTI futures are consistently efficient within 8‐month maturity and consistently efficient and unbiased within 2‐month maturity. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 31:487–501, 2011     

最低收购价政策改革背景下小麦期货市场价格发现功能再检验

通过构建最低收购价政策影响下小麦期现货市场的价格传导机制的理论框架,并选取2015年我国小麦最低收购价政策改革前后两个时期各4年的周度数据,使用ADF单位根检验、Johansen协整检验、Granger因果关系检验和方差分解对最低收购价政策改革背景下小麦期货市场的价格发现功能进行实证研究。研究结果表明:无论是强麦还是普麦,最低收购价政策改革对于小麦期货价格与现货价格均衡关系的形成均具有促进作用;在最低收购价政策改革之前,强麦期货市场不具有价格发现功能,之后这种功能才得以形成,同时普麦期货市场的价格发现功能变得更为显著;小麦期货市场的影响力强于现货市场,在价格发现功能中占据主导作用。     

The relationship between spot and futures prices: Evidence from the crude oil market

This article examines the relationship between the spot and futures prices of WTI crude oil using a sample of daily data. Linear causality testing reveals that futures prices lead spot prices, but nonlinear causality testing reveals a bidirectional effect. This result suggests that both spot and futures markets react simultaneously to new information. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 19: 175–193, 1999     

Information revelation in the futures market: Evidence from single stock futures

This paper analyzes 31 months of data on 137 single‐stock futures (SSFs) traded on OneChicago. The results indicate that on the days they trade, SSFs contribute approximately 24% of the price discovery for underlying stocks. Information revelation in the SSFs market decreases with the ratio of spreads in the futures and the stock markets and the volatility in the stock market. Moreover, the quality of the market for the underlying stocks improves substantially after the introduction of the SSFs market, with the largest improvement occurring on days with SSFs trading. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28:335– 353, 2008