Hull Answers
CHAPTER 3
Hedging Strategies Using Futures
Practice Questions
Problem 3.8.
In the Chicago Board of Trade’s corn futures contract, the following delivery months are available: March, May, July, September, and December. State the contract that should be used for hedging when the expiration of the hedge is in a) June b) July c) January
A good rule of thumb is to choose a futures contract that has a delivery month as close as possible to, but later than, the month containing the expiration of the hedge. The contracts that should be used are therefore
a) July
b) September
c) March
Problem 3.9.
Does a perfect hedge always succeed in locking in the current spot price of an asset for a future transaction? Explain your answer.
No. Consider, for example, the use of a forward contract to hedge a known cash inflow in a foreign currency. The forward contract locks in the forward exchange rate — which is in general different from the spot exchange rate.
Problem 3.10.
Explain why a short hedger’s position improves when the basis strengthens unexpectedly and worsens when the basis weakens unexpectedly.
The basis is the amount by which the spot price exceeds the futures price. A short hedger is long the asset and short futures contracts. The value of his or her position therefore improves as the basis increases. Similarly it worsens as the basis decreases.
Problem 3.11.
Imagine you are the treasurer of a Japanese company exporting electronic equipment to the United States. Discuss how you would design a foreign exchange hedging strategy and the arguments you would use to sell the strategy to your fellow executives.
The simple answer to this question is that the treasurer should 1. Estimate the company’s future cash flows in Japanese yen and U.S. dollars 2. Enter into forward and futures contracts to lock in the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar cash flows.
However, this is not the whole story. As the gold jewelry example in Table 3.1 shows, the
Hedging Strategies Using Futures
Practice Questions
Problem 3.8.
In the Chicago Board of Trade’s corn futures contract, the following delivery months are available: March, May, July, September, and December. State the contract that should be used for hedging when the expiration of the hedge is in a) June b) July c) January
A good rule of thumb is to choose a futures contract that has a delivery month as close as possible to, but later than, the month containing the expiration of the hedge. The contracts that should be used are therefore
a) July
b) September
c) March
Problem 3.9.
Does a perfect hedge always succeed in locking in the current spot price of an asset for a future transaction? Explain your answer.
No. Consider, for example, the use of a forward contract to hedge a known cash inflow in a foreign currency. The forward contract locks in the forward exchange rate — which is in general different from the spot exchange rate.
Problem 3.10.
Explain why a short hedger’s position improves when the basis strengthens unexpectedly and worsens when the basis weakens unexpectedly.
The basis is the amount by which the spot price exceeds the futures price. A short hedger is long the asset and short futures contracts. The value of his or her position therefore improves as the basis increases. Similarly it worsens as the basis decreases.
Problem 3.11.
Imagine you are the treasurer of a Japanese company exporting electronic equipment to the United States. Discuss how you would design a foreign exchange hedging strategy and the arguments you would use to sell the strategy to your fellow executives.
The simple answer to this question is that the treasurer should 1. Estimate the company’s future cash flows in Japanese yen and U.S. dollars 2. Enter into forward and futures contracts to lock in the exchange rate for the U.S. dollar cash flows.
However, this is not the whole story. As the gold jewelry example in Table 3.1 shows, the