A commodity option gives the holder
the right, but not the obligation,
to take a futures position at a specified
price before a specified date.
The value of an option reflects the
expected return from exercising
this right before it expires and disposing
of the futures position
obtained. If the futures price
changes in favor of the option holder,
a profit may be realized either
by exercising the option or selling
the option at a price higher than
paid. If prices move so that exercising
the option is unfavorable, then
the option may be allowed to
expire. Options provide protection
against adverse price movements,
while allowing the option holder to
gain from favorable movements in
the cash price. In this sense,
options provide protection against
unfavorable events similar to that
provided by insurance policies. To
gain this protection, a hedger in an
options contract must pay a premium,
as one would pay for insurance.
Options markets are closely tied to
underlying futures markets.
Options that give the right to sell a
futures contract are known as
“put” options, while options that
give the right to buy a futures contract
are known as “call” options.
The price at which the futures contract
underlying the option may be
bought (for a call option) or sold
(for a put option) is called the
“exercise” or “strike” price. As an
example, suppose a wheat producer
purchases a put option having a
strike price of $3.00 per bushel. If
futures prices move to $2.80, the
option may be exercised for a net
profit of $0.20 ($3.00-$2.80), minus
the premium paid for the option. If
the harvest cash price is $2.70 per
bushel, the farmer’s return is $2.90
per bushel ($2.70 plus $0.20),
minus the premium.
The effects on realized returns
from hedging with futures and put
options are compared for a range
of possible futures price outcomes
in figure 7. In this example, corn is
stored in November and sold in
May, output risk is absent