MG's losses in the futures and swaps markets have raised questions about whether MG was really
hedging or speculating. When news of MG's losses began to leak to the public, it was rumored that
they had speculated, betting that oil prices would rise. If they were hedging, as initially reported in the
press, they would be indifferent to a change in prices. MGRM was not indifferent to the direction of
oil price movements because they were engaged in an indirect hedge of their forward positions.
The enormous losses they incurred did not result from naked futures positions in which MGRM
gambled that the price of oil would rise. The position was more complex than that. MGRM's futures
and swaps positions were hedges of the medium-term fixed-rate oil products they had sold forward.
The hedge scenarios were as follows: If oil prices drop, the hedge loses money and the fixed-rate
position increases in value. If oil prices rise, the hedge gains offset the fixed-rate position losses. A
hedge is supposed to transfer market risk, not increase it. If this were a hedge, as we have proposed,
we must answer the question: how did MG lose over $1 billion?
MGRM's hedge adequately transferred its market risk. When oil prices dropped, they lost money on
their hedge positions but the value of their forward contracts increased. MGRM exposed itself to
funding risk by entering into these positions. In that sense, they were speculating. They were
speculating by entering into medium-term fixed-rate forward positions totaling approximately 160
million barrels of oil. The sheer size of this position created an enormous amount of risk. According to
an MG spokesperson, this position was the equivalent of 85 days worth of the entire off output of
Kuwait. If oil prices were to drop, MGRM would lose money on their hedge positions and would
receive margin calls on their futures positions. Although gains in the forward contract positions would
offset the hedge losses, a negative cash flow would occur in the short run because no cash would be
received for the gain in the value of the forward contracts until the oil was sold. Although no
economic loss would occur because of their hedge strategy, the size of their position created a funding
crisis.