Unpacking the Relationship between Crude Oil Financialization and Volatility: The Tale of Speculative Positions

This paper explores the impact of commodities financialization on crude oil prices and their volatility. While some commodities have been market movers for centuries, introducing others, such as oil, to the financial markets is more recent. The increase in investors' appetite for commodity investing has led to commodities’ financialization, which is often considered an amplifier of commodity price volatility. This paper focuses on the relationship between crude oil prices and the financialization argument through the commitment of traders undertaking long and short positions on the WTI crude oil to study their impact on spot prices and, thus, on crude oil's volatility. It reviews recent swings in oil prices and the correlation between prices of crude oil and speculative positions in financial markets. It also focuses on the relationship between crude oil prices, speculative positions, and volatility represented by the CBOE Crude Oil Volatility ETF through econometric models. The aim is to bring additional information to the literature on whether commodities financialization, specifically the presence of hedgers on crude oil markets, are linked to the volatility in energy markets. We rely on tools such as correlation levels, the Granger Causality test, Vector Autoregression, and Fully Modified Least Square models to study if additional speculative activity in the Crude Oil market is responsible for adding pressure to oil prices on financial markets. We then conclude with the direction of the link between prices and speculative positions, if investors are shaping the market prices and contributing to higher volatility.

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The U.S. Dollar’s “Exorbitant Privilege” Remains

• Notwithstanding the ongoing drive by countries for a higher plurality of main currencies, raising the use of the renminbi, “de-dollarization” looks bound to be partial and limited. • Higher speed and depth of such a transformation would require a metamorphosis of China’s regulatory and policy regime for which the country will not have the desire to implement. • While the euro has remained mostly a regional reserve currency, the U.S. may retain its “exorbitant privilege” through the provision of U.S. dollar safe assets for longer.

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Por que haverá uma desdolarização devagar e limitada

Tem havido uma redução no grau de "dominância" do dólar, com uma queda se sua parcela nas reservas dos bancos centrais desde a virada do século, de 71% em 1999 para 58,4% ao final de 2022. Contudo, fatores gravitacionais favorecem a continuidade da posição central do dólar em mercados financeiros internacionais, nas faturas e pagamentos comerciais, assim como em reservas cambiais públicas e privadas

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The global economy faces a lost decade

The economic factors that have propelled global prosperity over the past three decades are losing their grip. The aging and slow growth of the global workforce are highlighted as downward factors, explaining half of the expected slowdown in potential GDP growth through 2030. What should countries do in the face of this prospect of a “lost decade”?

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Por que o estresse bancário nos Estados Unidos dessa vez é diferente

Está o sistema bancário dos Estados Unidos à beira de um precipício como o de 2008? Seriam as últimas semanas o prenúncio de uma nova crise sistêmica? O dilema do Fed entre combater inflação e assegurar estabilidade financeira ficou mais apertado, com “dominância financeira” caso os juros sejam mantidos abaixo do que a política contra a inflação recomendaria. Apesar do otimismo de que o estresse no sistema financeiro será contido, um endurecimento de condições financeiras – em ações e crédito - já está ocorrendo.

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Gender inequality in the labor market: the case of Morocco

Gender disparities in the labor market persist as a serious challenge, resulting in lower participation rates for women than men. This gender gap in labor force participation varies considerably across regions, with female participation rates consistently lagging men. After some progress during the last few decades, the multiple crises faced by the global economy in recent times – pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising risks of climate change, and slowing growth after high inflation – have meant a setback to progress in reforms toward the empowerment of women in labor markets. We approach here how Morocco can strengthen productivity and economic growth by pursuing reforms to reduce gender inequality of opportunities.

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Read more about the article The Amazon Needs the Rule of Law, Not the Rule of Chainsaw
Floresta amazônica, meio ambiente, preservacão ambiental, madeira, desmatamento, em Manaus | Sérgio Lima/Poder360 01.nov.2021

The Amazon Needs the Rule of Law, Not the Rule of Chainsaw

At the origin of deforestation, there is a problem of what economists call ‘microeconomic incentives’, that is, the (risk-weighted) costs and benefits for the perpetrators. Avoiding forest damage means acting on this calculation. Having bills approved is not enough. For deforesters to take them into account in their calculations, enforcement must be effective. The risk-adjusted cost-benefit calculation favors compliance with the law only when, in case of disobedience, the probability of capture and significant punishment are sufficiently high.

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Read more about the article A lei tem que predominar sobre a motosserra
Floresta amazônica, meio ambiente, preservacão ambiental, madeira, desmatamento, em Manaus | Sérgio Lima/Poder360 01.nov.2021

A lei tem que predominar sobre a motosserra

Na origem do desmatamento, tem um problema que os economistas chamam de “incentivos microeconômicos”, vale dizer, custos e benefícios (levando em conta os riscos) encarados pelos perpetradores. Urge, pois, atuar sobre esse cálculo para se evitar o dano florestal. Não basta ter a lei. Para que entre no cálculo do desmatador, é preciso que seja eficaz no cumprimento. O cálculo custo-benefício ajustado aos riscos favorece a obediência à lei apenas quando são suficientemente altas a probabilidade de captura e a punição significativa em caso de desobediência.

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The Impacts of China’s Economic Reopening on Latin America

The post-‘COVID zero’ reopening of the Chinese economy has improved its growth outlook: the IMF projects 5.2% growth (2023), with declines afterward up to 3.5% in 2028. Will economic reopening and Chinese growth be strong enough to repeat previous contributions to Latin America via exports of food, minerals, and oil? This time it will be more gradual and in a different direction. Financial and investment flows will also be different.

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Qual será o impacto da reabertura econômica chinesa sobre a América Latina?

A reabertura pós-COVID zero da economia chinesa melhorou suas perspectivas de crescimento: o FMI projeta crescimento de 5,2% (2023), com quedas posteriores de até 3,5% em 2028. A reabertura econômica e o crescimento chinês serão fortes o suficiente para repetir as contribuições anteriores à América Latina por meio das exportações de alimentos, minerais e petróleo? Desta vez, será mais gradual e em uma direção diferente. Os fluxos financeiros e de investimentos também serão diferentes.

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The parrot says that commodity prices will rise

In 2023, both the demand and supply sides point to upward pressure across much of commodity prices. Not all commodity prices will necessarily move up. As far as energy, metals and minerals are concerned, the parrot is likely looking up at this point; definitely in this case the best thing to do is to mimic the parrot.

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Latin America in the Aftermath of Europe’s War

This chapter examines the impacts and durable consequences of Europe’s war (in Ukraine), overlapping with the effects of other components of the ‘perfect storm’ (pandemic, severe weather phenomenon, hunger, global inflation) for Latin America. First, we deal with the global tectonic shifts that have conditioned the region’s economic performance since the 1990s. Second, we outline the range of effects stemming from the ‘perfect storm’. The third section discusses how economic relations between China and Latin America have evolved. Finally, we frame the U.S.-China rivalry in a Latin American context.

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