IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jageco/v50y1999i2p247-257.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Futures Markets and Spot Price Volatility: A Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • C. W. Morgan

Abstract

Futures markets, where they exist, can play a crucial role in determining the storage decision in the underlying spot (physical) market. The futures market acts as a conduit for market information and is a gatherer of agents' expectations about the future prospects for the spot market. As such, it is able to provide both price insurance and price discovery roles, the latter of which generates information for spot market traders and allows them to make rational storage decisions. If this were to be the case, then the efficiency of storage is improved which can potentially lead to a reduction in the volatility of spot prices over the marketing season. The existing literature is ambiguous as to whether futures markets can help spot markets price more efficiently. This paper seeks to examine whether this is the case in the British maincrop potato market by evaluating the volatility of spot prices over the period 1969–96 in a “before‐after” analysis of the impact of the introduction of futures trading in 1980. The results suggest that the introduction of the futures market has led to a reduction in price volatility, despite some problems in the operation of the futures market itself.

Suggested Citation

  • C. W. Morgan, 1999. "Futures Markets and Spot Price Volatility: A Case Study," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(2), pages 247-257, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:50:y:1999:i:2:p:247-257
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1477-9552.1999.tb00811.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.1999.tb00811.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1477-9552.1999.tb00811.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anne E. Peck, 1976. "Futures Markets, Supply Response, and Price Stability," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 90(3), pages 407-423.
    2. C. T. Ennew & C. W. Morgan & A. J. Rayner, 1992. "Objective And Subjective Influences On The Decision To Trade On The London Potato Futures Market," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 160-174, May.
    3. Figlewski, Stephen, 1981. "Futures Trading and Volatility in the GNMA Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 36(2), pages 445-456, May.
    4. David Kenyon & Eluned Jones & M. Anya McGuirk, 1993. "Forecasting Performance of Corn and Soybean Harvest Futures Contracts," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 75(2), pages 399-407.
    5. Taylor, Gregory S. & Leuthold, Raymond M., 1974. "The Influence of Futures Trading on Cash Cattle Price Variations," Food Research Institute Studies, Stanford University, Food Research Institute, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8.
    6. Newbery, David M, 1987. "When Do Futures Destabilize Spot Prices?," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 28(2), pages 291-297, June.
    7. Grossman, Sanford J & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1980. "On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 393-408, June.
    8. B. Wade Brorsen & Charles M. Oellermann & Paul L. Farris, 1989. "The live cattle futures market and daily cash price movements," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 9(4), pages 273-282, August.
    9. A. J. Aulton & C. T. Ennew & A. J. Rayner, 1997. "Efficiency Tests Of Futures Markets For Uk Agricultural Commodities," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1‐3), pages 408-424, January.
    10. Paul, Allen B. & Kahl, Kandice H. & Tomek, William G., 1981. "Performance of Futures Markets: The Case of Potatoes," Technical Bulletins 157682, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    11. Turnovsky, Stephen J., 1979. "Futures markets, private storage, and price stabilization," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 301-327, December.
    12. Raymond M. Leuthold & Peter A. Hartmann, 1979. "A Semi-Strong Form Evaluation of the Efficiency of the Hog Futures Market," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 61(3), pages 482-489.
    13. Janet S. Netz, 1995. "The Effect of Futures Markets and Corners on Storage and Spot Price Variability," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 77(1), pages 182-193.
    14. Fama, Eugene F, 1970. "Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 25(2), pages 383-417, May.
    15. Kawai, Masahiro, 1983. "Price Volatility of Storable Commodities under Rational Expectations in Spot and Futures Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 24(2), pages 435-459, June.
    16. MacDonald, Ronald & Taylor, Mark P, 1988. "Testing Rational Expectations and Efficiency in the London Metal Exchange," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 50(1), pages 41-52, February.
    17. Driskill, Robert & McCafferty, Stephen & Sheffrin, Steven M, 1991. "Speculative Intensity and Spot and Futures Price Variability," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 29(4), pages 737-751, October.
    18. Powers, Mark J, 1970. "Does Futures Trading Reduce Price Fluctuations in the Cash Markets?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 60(3), pages 460-464, June.
    19. Telser, Lester G, 1981. "Why There Are Organized Futures Markets," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 24(1), pages 1-22, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. de Jong, Johan & Sonnemans, Joep & Tuinstra, Jan, 2022. "The effect of futures markets on the stability of commodity prices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 176-211.
    2. Ashutosh Vashishtha, 2020. "Cobweb price dynamics under the presence of agricultural futures market: theoretical analysis," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 67(2), pages 131-162, June.
    3. Jones, Keithly G., 2006. "The Effect of Relative Prices and Exchange Rates on Domestic Market Share of U.S. Red-Meat Utilization," 2006 Annual Meeting, August 12-18, 2006, Queensland, Australia 25424, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Jian Li & Jean‐Paul Chavas, 2023. "A dynamic analysis of the distribution of commodity futures and spot prices," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(1), pages 122-143, January.
    5. C. W. Morgan, 2001. "Commodity futures markets in LDCs: a review and prospects," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 1(2), pages 139-150, April.
    6. Santos, Joseph, 2003. "Commodity futures contracts: Furnishing an elastic currency in the nineteenth century," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 561-578, December.
    7. Babajide Fowowe, 2014. "Paper oil and physical oil: has speculative pressure in oil futures increased volatility in spot oil prices?," OPEC Energy Review, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, vol. 38(3), pages 356-372, September.
    8. 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).
    9. Bohl, Martin T. & Stephan, Patrick M., 2013. "Does Futures Speculation Destabilize Spot Prices? New Evidence for Commodity Markets," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Southern Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 45(4), pages 1-21, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rausser, Gordon C & Carter, Colin, 1983. "Futures Market Efficiency in the Soybean Complex," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 65(3), pages 469-478, August.
    2. Méndez Parra, Maximiliano, 2015. "Futures prices, trade and domestic supply of agricultural commodities," Economics PhD Theses 0115, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    3. de Jong, Johan & Sonnemans, Joep & Tuinstra, Jan, 2022. "The effect of futures markets on the stability of commodity prices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 176-211.
    4. Ashish Kumar, 2015. "Impact of Currency Futures on Volatility in Exchange Rate," Paradigm, , vol. 19(1), pages 95-108, June.
    5. Skold, Karl Durwood, 1989. "The integration of alternative information systems: an application to the Hogs and Pigs report," ISU General Staff Papers 1989010108000010239, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    6. Jacks, David S., 2007. "Populists versus theorists: Futures markets and the volatility of prices," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 342-362, April.
    7. Lin Xie & Jiahua Liao & Haiting Chen & Xuefei Yan & Xinyan Hu, 2021. "Is Futurization the Culprit for the Violent Fluctuation in China’s Apple Spot Price?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-14, April.
    8. Alessandro Borin & Virginia Di Nino, 2012. "The role of financial investments in agricultural commodity derivatives markets," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 849, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    9. Rahul Kumar Singh, 2023. "Efficiency of Wheat Futures across APMC Mandis," Journal of Quantitative Economics, Springer;The Indian Econometric Society (TIES), vol. 21(3), pages 681-701, September.
    10. Kalantzis, Fotis G. & Milonas, Nikolaos T., 2013. "Analyzing the impact of futures trading on spot price volatility: Evidence from the spot electricity market in France and Germany," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 454-463.
    11. Patrick Artus & Claude Jessua, 1996. "La spéculation," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 47(3), pages 409-424.
    12. Batista Soares, David & Borocco, Etienne, 2022. "Rational destabilization in commodity markets," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 25(C).
    13. Fizaine, Florian, 2015. "Minor metals and organized markets: News highlights about the consequences of establishing a futures market in a thin market with a dual trading price system," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(P2), pages 59-70.
    14. Dragan Miljkovic & Cole Goetz, 2023. "Futures markets and price stabilisation: An analysis of soybeans markets in North America," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 67(1), pages 104-117, January.
    15. Gurmeet Singh, 2017. "Estimating Optimal Hedge Ratio and Hedging Effectiveness in the NSE Index Futures," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 6(2), pages 108-131, December.
    16. Kapil Gupta & Balwinder Singh, 2009. "Information Memory and Pricing Efficiency of Futures Contracts," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 8(2), pages 191-250, May.
    17. Ahmet Enis Kocagil, 1997. "Does futures speculation stabilize spot prices? Evidence from metals markets," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 115-125.
    18. Gunther Capelle-Blancard & Dramane Coulibaly, 2011. "Index trading and agricultural commodity prices: A panel Granger causality analysis," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 126-127, pages 51-71.
    19. A. J. Aulton & C. T. Ennew & A. J. Rayner, 1997. "Efficiency Tests Of Futures Markets For Uk Agricultural Commodities," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1‐3), pages 408-424, January.
    20. Patrick Artus, 1990. "Quand la création d'un marché à terme peut-elle déstabiliser le cours au comptant ?," Revue Économique, Programme National Persée, vol. 41(1), pages 71-94.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jageco:v:50:y:1999:i:2:p:247-257. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0021-857X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.