对contango的简单理解

关于英文单词contango的解释网上有不少,简单易懂的却不多。就连维基百科上有关contango的词条解释也写得让人不明觉厉,而Khan Academy的视频讲解了4分多钟,看完依旧是感觉云里雾里。

到目前为止,唯一让我觉得容易理解的解释来自CommodityHQ.com,现摘录其英文释义如下:By definition, contango is the process whereby near-month futures are cheaper than those expiring further into the future, creating an upward sloping curve for futures prices over time. The reason behind this is most often attributed to storage costs; storing barrels of oil or bushels of corn isn’t cheap, and the costs have to be passed down the line. (原文见参考链接(1)

上面这段英文的大意是讲:contango是指一种近月期货价格比远月期货价格要便宜的现象,从图表上来看,会形成一条向上走的期货价格斜线。通常,造成此现象的原因是仓储成本。存储大批量的原油、玉米费用不菲,这种成本会被转嫁到远月期货价格中去。

这个解释或许不是最权威的,但能帮助读者较好地理解什么是contango。对我而言,就已足够了。顺带说下,contango是期货交易(futures trading)中的一个概念,中文里翻译过来叫:升水。

参考链接:

(1) http://commodityhq.com/education/what-is-contango/

(2) https://www.ft.com/content/159cade8-9be0-11e4-a6b6-00144feabdc0

(3) http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/commodities-precious-metals/contango-1282

(4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roll_yield