Extreme Price Co-movement of Commodity Futures and Industrial Production Growth: An Empirical Evaluation

Description

This article studies whether the extreme price co-movement of commodity futures can be exploited to anticipate future industrial production (IP) growth. For this purpose, an empirical model is estimated to derive a measure that characterizes upside and downside price extremes. The derived price extremes are shown to be positively associated with IP growth over the next quarter. The findings further suggest the presence of an asymmetry: the association corresponding to downside extremes is robust whereas that of upside extremes is weaker. The findings reinforce the informational friction theory as well as those financial studies that emphasize downside risk in financial markets.