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Do net positions in the futures market cause spot prices of crude oil?

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  • Ding, Haoyuan
  • Kim, Hyung-Gun
  • Park, Sung Y.

Abstract

The last decade has witnessed sharp increases in the price of crude oil. There are two possible explanations for these increases: dramatic increases in financial firms' position in the oil futures market and recent increases in oil prices from changes in economic fundamentals. This paper examines the causal relationship between the net financial position and the crude oil price by using three types of Granger non-causality tests: the classical Granger non-causality test, a robust Granger non-causality test and a Granger non-causality test in quantiles. The empirical results provide some evidence of causality from the net financial position to the spot price of crude oil. In addition, futures prices serve as a transmission mechanism underlying the causal relationship between the net financial position and the crude oil price.

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  • Ding, Haoyuan & Kim, Hyung-Gun & Park, Sung Y., 2014. "Do net positions in the futures market cause spot prices of crude oil?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 177-190.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:41:y:2014:i:c:p:177-190
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2014.05.008
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    Cited by:

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    3. Li, Haiqi & Zhong, Wanling & Park, Sung Y., 2016. "Generalized cross-spectral test for nonlinear Granger causality with applications to money–output and price–volume relations," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 52(PB), pages 661-671.
    4. Jena, Sangram Keshari & Tiwari, Aviral Kumar & Hammoudeh, Shawkat & Roubaud, David, 2019. "Distributional predictability between commodity spot and futures: Evidence from nonparametric causality-in-quantiles tests," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 615-628.
    5. Li, Xin & Ma, Jian & Wang, Shouyang & Zhang, Xun, 2015. "How does Google search affect trader positions and crude oil prices?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 162-171.
    6. Li, Haiqi & Kim, Myeong Jun & Park, Sung Y., 2016. "Nonlinear relationship between crude oil price and net futures positions: A dynamic conditional distribution approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 217-225.
    7. Zhifang He & Fangzhao Zhou, 2018. "Time-varying and asymmetric effects of the oil-specific demand shock on investor sentiment," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-18, August.
    8. Yanhong Feng & Xiaolei Wang & Shuanglian Chen & Yanqiong Liu, 2022. "Impact of Oil Financialization on Oil Price Fluctuation: A Perspective of Heterogeneity," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, June.
    9. Nicolau, Mihaela & Palomba, Giulio, 2015. "Dynamic relationships between spot and futures prices. The case of energy and gold commodities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 130-143.
    10. Li, Haiqi & Kim, Hyung-Gun & Park, Sung Y., 2015. "The role of financial speculation in the energy future markets: A new time-varying coefficient approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 112-122.
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    12. Xie, Xiaoyu & Zhu, Heliang, 2021. "The role of gold futures in mitigating the impact of economic uncertainty on spot prices: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).

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