Fundamental economic factors — market demand and supply conditions — provide the most consistent explanation for recent trends in commodity prices. The rise and fall of commodity prices on a monthly basis since 2004 has been strongly linked to the value of the U.S. dollar and the world...

I: Export Earnings -- 1. Market Solutions to the Problem of Stabilizing Commodity Earnings -- 2. Hedging Commodity Export Earnings with Futures and Options Contracts -- 3. Options to Alleviate the Costs of Uncertainty and Stability: A Case Study of Zambia -- II: Financial Markets and Commodity...

The recent events triggered by the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) have led to calls for regulation of financial (particularly derivative) markets to prevent “destabilizing speculation”. Given that such regulation may involve opportunity costs, this paper examines whether tighter futures price...