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Speculation in Commodity Futures Markets, Inventories and the Price of Crude Oil

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  • Sung Je Byun
Abstract
This paper examines the role of inventories in refiners' gasoline production and develops a structural model of the relationship between crude oil prices and inventories. Using data on inventories and prices of oil futures, I show that convenience yields decrease at a diminishing rate as inventories increase, consistent with the theory of storage. In addition to exhibiting seasonal and procyclical behaviors, I show that the historical convenience yield averages about 18 percent of the oil price from March 1989 to November 2014. Although some have argued that a breakdown of the relationship between crude oil inventories and prices following increased financial investors' participation after 2004 was evidence of a speculative effect, I find that the proposed price-inventory relationship is stable over time. The empirical evidence indicates that crude oil prices remained tied to oil-market fundamentals such as inventories, suggesting that the contribution of financial investors' activities was weak.

Suggested Citation

  • Sung Je Byun, 2017. "Speculation in Commodity Futures Markets, Inventories and the Price of Crude Oil," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 5).
    • Handle: RePEc:aen:journl:ej38-5-byun
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    Cited by:

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    2. Fernandez-Perez, Adrian & Fuertes, Ana-Maria & Miffre, Joelle, 2021. "The risk premia of energy futures," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Reinhard Ellwanger, 2017. "On the Tail Risk Premium in the Oil Market," Staff Working Papers 17-46, Bank of Canada.
    4. Mason, Charles F. & Wilmot, Neil A., 2020. "Jumps in the convenience yield of crude oil," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    5. Niaz Bashiri Behmiri & Maryam Ahmadi & Juha-Pekka Junttila & Matteo Manera, 2021. "Financial Stress and Basis in Energy Markets," The Energy Journal, , vol. 42(5), pages 67-88, September.
    6. Maryam Ahmadi & Niaz Bashiri Behmiri & Matteo Manera, 2020. "The theory of storage in the crude oil futures market, the role of financial conditions," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(7), pages 1160-1175, July.
    7. Celso Brunetti & Jeffrey H. Harris & Bahattin Büyükşahin, 2024. "Crude Oil Price Movements and Institutional Traders," Commodities, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-23, February.
    8. Krzysztof Drachal, 2022. "Forecasting the Crude Oil Spot Price with Bayesian Symbolic Regression," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-29, December.
    9. Algirdas Justinas Staugaitis & Bernardas Vaznonis, 2022. "Financial Speculation Impact on Agricultural and Other Commodity Return Volatility: Implications for Sustainable Development and Food Security," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-27, November.

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