This paper provides simple approximations for evaluating option prices and implied volatilities under stochastic volatility. Simple recursive formulae are derived that can easily be implemented in spreadsheets. The traditional random walk assumption, dominating in the analysis of financial markets, is compared with mean reversion which is often more relevant in commodity markets. Deterministic components in the mean and volatility are taken into consideration to allow for seasonality, another frequent aspect of commodity markets. The stochastic volatility is suitably modelled by GARCH. An application to electricity options shows that the choice between a random walk and a mean reversion model can have strong effects for predictions of implied volatilities even if the two models are statistically close to each other.
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Paper provided by Erasmus University Rotterdam, Econometric Institute in its series Econometric Institute Report with number
EI 2003-20 Revision_Date: 2009-10-14.
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Bollerslev, Tim & Engle, Robert F. & Nelson, Daniel B., 1986.
"Arch models,"
Handbook of Econometrics,
in: R. F. Engle & D. McFadden (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 49, pages 2959-3038
Elsevier.
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