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The Pricing of Unexpected Volatility in the Currency Market

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Abstract

Many recent papers have investigated the role played by volatility in determining the cross-section of currency returns. This paper employs two time-varying factor models: a threshold model and a Markov-switching model to price the excess returns from the currency carry trade. We show that the importance of volatility depends on whether the currency markets are unexpectedly volatile. Volatility innovations during relatively tranquil periods are largely unrewarded in the market, whereas during the volatile period, this risk, has a substantial impact on currency returns. The empirical results show that the two time-varying factor models fit the data better and generate a smaller pricing errors than the linear model, while the Markov-switching model outperforms the threshold factor models not only by generating lower pricing errors but also distinguishing two regimes endogenously and without any predetermined state variables.

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  • Lu, Wenna & Copeland, Laurence & Xu, Yongdeng, 2021. "The Pricing of Unexpected Volatility in the Currency Market," Cardiff Economics Working Papers E2021/16, Cardiff University, Cardiff Business School, Economics Section.
  • Handle: RePEc:cdf:wpaper:2021/16
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    1. Hanno Lustig & Nikolai Roussanov & Adrien Verdelhan, 2011. "Common Risk Factors in Currency Markets," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(11), pages 3731-3777.
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    5. Christiansen, Charlotte & Ranaldo, Angelo & Söderlind, Paul, 2011. "The Time-Varying Systematic Risk of Carry Trade Strategies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(4), pages 1107-1125, August.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    carry trade; asset pricing; trading strategies; currency portfolios; Markov-switching model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F3 - International Economics - - International Finance
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets

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