The Samuelson hypothesis asserts that futures volatility increases as maturity decreases. On the basis of 10 US commodity futures and by capturing the dynamics of the futures volatility terms structure with three factors, we show that in most markets the slope factor is strongly negative in certain periods and at best only weakly negative in other periods. High inventory levels are found to correspond to flatter volatility term structures in seven futures. This finding is consistent with the linkage between carry arbitrage and the Samuelson hypothesis. We also find that a flatter volatility term structure corresponds to lower absolute futures term premiums.
We investigate information contained in the term structure of interest rate futures contracts in the United States, Eurozone, UK, and Switzerland. We find that current forward‐spot differentials often predict return premiums and, especially, future spot rates. This predictability follows time‐series patterns common to all four markets, except around crises. Macroeconomic indicators are important determinants of predictability within and between markets. One common factor captures a significant portion of variation in predictability. No single market has a dominant share of macroeconomic indicators linked with the common predictability factor. Inflation and exchange rates arise as the most important determinants of the common factor.
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