Financialization of Commodity : the Role of Financial Investors in Commodity Markets.

Summary This thesis studies the role played by financial investors in commodity markets, known as commodity financialization. It consists of a theoretical and an empirical part. The research aims to study the participation of investors, holding equity portfolios, in commodity futures markets, for diversification reasons. Moreover, this diversification can be achieved by investing in a basket of commodities. The first chapter analyzes theoretically the interaction between the commodity and equity markets. The second chapter empirically studies the impact of financial investors' choice on the risk premium of commodity futures contracts. It focuses on three commodities: crude oil (WTI), heating oil and natural gas. The third chapter theoretically studies the integration of two commodity markets. We clarify some considerations regarding the effect of financialization on which the existing literature remains hesitant. We demonstrate the power of influence that investors have on the commodity market. However, this depends on the nature of the investor's position in the futures market. In general, financialization leads to higher spot prices, higher futures prices and higher inventory levels. We also show that investors represent a transmission channel between commodity markets. Their extended effects are limited to the cross-correlation of commodity markets. Finally, we show that equity market returns became a determinant of the futures risk premium after the 2008 financial crisis. This effect of equity returns is indifferent between short and long maturities.