Narrow Results

In energy markets, changes in the spot price due to the influence of weather and seasonal demand conditions are partially predictable. In this work, we examine the German GASPOOL and NetConnect Germany natural gas markets using the Ederington and Salas [2008] framework that considers the predictive power of the base (futures price minus spot price) in the estimation of minimum variance hedge ratios. A considerable improvement in risk reduction and hedging effectiveness can be obtained by considering the partial predictability of changes in spot prices. We find that long hedges perform better than short hedges and there is no benefit to be gained by using more complex hedging estimations (BEKK) over the simpler OLS model. Seasonality is also found in hedging ratios.

Energy-based assets are showing increased susceptibility to volatility arising out of geo-political, economic, climate and technological events. Given the economic importance of energy products, their market participants need to be able to access efficient strategies to effectively manage their exposures and reduce price risk. This chapter will outline the key futures-based hedging approaches that have been developed for managing energy price risk and evaluate their effectiveness. A key element of this analysis will be the breadth of assets considered. These include Crude and Refined Oil products, Natural Gas and wholesale Electricity markets. We find significant differences in the hedging effectiveness of the different energy markets. A key finding is that, Natural Gas and particularly Electricity futures are relatively ineffective as a risk management tool when compared with other energy assets.