Abstract: | Commodity pricing models generally explain the link between commodity prices and stock levels in terms of a stock‐out constraint or a convenience yield. Analysis of this link is provided using monthly London Metals Exchange copper, lead, and zinc prices obtained for the period November 1964 to December 2003. A Markov model, fitted to these data, supports the existence of two distinct pricing regimes while the impact of convenience yields is also identified. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:391–415, 2006 |