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What Does the Convenience Yield Curve Tell Us about the Crude Oil Market?

Author

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  • Ron Alquist
  • Gregory Bauer
  • Antonio Diez de los Rios

Abstract

Using the prices of crude oil futures contracts, we construct the term structure of crude oil convenience yields out to one-year maturity. The crude oil convenience yield can be interpreted as the interest rate, denominated in barrels of oil, for borrowing a single barrel of oil, and it measures the value of storing crude oil over the borrowing period. We show that the convenience yield curve is well explained by a level and a slope factor. Consistent with the theory of storage, convenience yields have predictive power over future crude oil inventories, production, global real economic activity and the price of oil.

Suggested Citation

  • Ron Alquist & Gregory Bauer & Antonio Diez de los Rios, 2014. "What Does the Convenience Yield Curve Tell Us about the Crude Oil Market?," Staff Working Papers 14-42, Bank of Canada.
    • Handle: RePEc:bca:bocawp:14-42
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Ron Alquist & Reinhard Ellwanger & Jianjian Jin, 2020. "The effect of oil price shocks on asset markets: Evidence from oil inventory news," Journal of Futures Markets, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(8), pages 1212-1230, August.
    4. Valenti, Daniele & Bastianin, Andrea & Manera, Matteo, 2023. "A weekly structural VAR model of the US crude oil market," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    5. Gonzato, Luca & Sgarra, Carlo, 2021. "Self-exciting jumps in the oil market: Bayesian estimation and dynamic hedging," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Junttila, Juha & Pesonen, Juho & Raatikainen, Juhani, 2018. "Commodity market based hedging against stock market risk in times of financial crisis: The case of crude oil and gold," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 255-280.
    7. Nestor Le Clech & Carmen Fillat‐Castejón, 2017. "International aggregate agricultural supply for grain and oilseed: The effects of efficiency and technological change," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(4), pages 569-585, September.
    8. Cepni, Oguzhan & Gupta, Rangan & Karahan, Cenk C. & Lucey, Brian, 2022. "Oil price shocks and yield curve dynamics in emerging markets," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 613-623.
    9. Babacar Seck & Robert J. Elliott, 2021. "Regime Switching Entropic Risk Measures on Crude Oil Pricing," Papers 2112.13041, arXiv.org.
    10. Efthymios G. Pavlidis & Ivan Paya & David A. Peel, 2018. "Using Market Expectations to Test for Speculative Bubbles in the Crude Oil Market," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(5), pages 833-856, August.
    11. Valenti, Daniele & Manera, Matteo & Sbuelz, Alessandro, 2020. "Interpreting the oil risk premium: Do oil price shocks matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    12. Clements, Adam & Shield, Cody & Thiele, Stephen, 2019. "Which oil shocks really matter in equity markets?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 134-141.
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    Keywords

    Asset Pricing; International topics;

    JEL classification:

    • C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods
    • C5 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling
    • C53 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Forecasting and Prediction Models; Simulation Methods
    • G - Financial Economics
    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G13 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Contingent Pricing; Futures Pricing
    • Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics
    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

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