The Forecasting Ability of Correlations Implied in Foreign Exchange Options

34 Pages Posted: 21 Jun 2000 Last revised: 30 Oct 2022

See all articles by José Manuel Campa

José Manuel Campa

University of Navarra - Madrid Campus - IESE Business School; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

P. H. Kevin Chang

Credit Suisse AG - London Headquarters

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 1997

Abstract

This paper evaluates the forecasting accuracy of correlation derived from implied volatilities in dollar-mark, dollar-yen, and mark-yen options from January 1989 to May 1995. As a forecast of realized correlation between the dollar-mark and dollar-yen, implied correlation is compared against three alternative forecasts based on time series data: historical correlation, RiskMetrics' exponentially weighted moving average correlation, and correlation estimated using a bivariate GARCH (1,1) model. At the one-month and three-month forecast horizons, we find that implied correlation outperforms, often significantly, these alternative forecasts. In combinations, implied correlation always incrementally improves the performance of other forecasts, but not the converse; in certain cases historically based forecasts contribute no incremental information to implied forecasts. The superiority of the implied correlation forecast holds even when forecast errors are weighted by realized variances, reflecting correlation's contribution to the dollar variance of a multicurrency portfolio.

Suggested Citation

Campa, José Manuel and Chang, P.H. Kevin, The Forecasting Ability of Correlations Implied in Foreign Exchange Options (March 1997). NBER Working Paper No. w5974, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=225753

José Manuel Campa (Contact Author)

University of Navarra - Madrid Campus - IESE Business School ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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P.H. Kevin Chang

Credit Suisse AG - London Headquarters ( email )

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United Kingdom
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+44 171 888 4775 (Fax)

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