Delivering the goods

There’s huge scope for growth in the freight derivatives market, but to attract more players, existing participants need to adopt more innovative and sophisticated trading practices, participants say. Stella Farrington reports

The fast-growing freight derivatives market is already viewed as a key risk management tool by many large energy and commodity traders. But now it’s attracting attention from both commodity merchants, usually not involved in the market, and financial players looking for new speculative opportunities.

The market’s de-correlation with equities markets makes it a useful addition to a bank or fund’s portfolio, and its many arbitrage opportunities are also attractive. Rising freight rates mean