Facts and Fantasies About Commodity Futures

41 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2004

See all articles by Gary B. Gorton

Gary B. Gorton

Yale School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Yale University - Yale Program on Financial Stability

K. Geert Rouwenhorst

Yale School of Management - International Center for Finance

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: February 28, 2005

Abstract

We construct an equally-weighted index of commodity futures monthly returns over the period between July of 1959 and December of 2004 in order to study simple properties of commodity futures as an asset class. Fully-collateralized commodity futures have historically offered the same return and Sharpe ratio as equities. While the risk premium on commodity futures is essentially the same as equities, commodity futures returns are negatively correlated with equity returns and bond returns. The negative correlation between commodity futures and the other asset classes is due, in significant part, to different behavior over the business cycle. In addition, commodity futures are positively correlated with inflation, unexpected inflation, and changes in expected inflation.

JEL Classification: G2, G15, N2

Suggested Citation

Gorton, Gary B. and Rouwenhorst, K. Geert, Facts and Fantasies About Commodity Futures (February 28, 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=560042

Gary B. Gorton

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Yale University - Yale Program on Financial Stability

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K. Geert Rouwenhorst (Contact Author)

Yale School of Management - International Center for Finance ( email )

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