By Patrick Campbell of the Bank's Foreign Exchange Division, Bjorn-Erik Orskaug of the Bank's International Finance Division and Richard Williams of the Bank's International Economic Analysis Division.
As the spot price of oil has risen in recent years, so has the price of oil for delivery in the future. This article examines the workings of the forward market for oil and considers why producers have not been hedging more of their future oil production following these unusual forward price moves.