a) Statoil sold 1 million barrels of crude oil to the Norwegianpetrol station chain, Circle K, today for 120 Nok per barrel (Nok denotes the Norwegian Krone). Statoil expects to receive the full payments from Circle K in 3 months’ time when the crude oil is delivered to Circle K’s facilities in Norway. Statoil is informed that Circle K will pay for the oil in Norwegian Krone. Ari is asked by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) about the strategy to reduce the uncertainty around the expected payment from Circle K. Ari is faced with the following market rates: Spot Exchange Rate Nok 6.0312/$ 3-month forward rate Nok 6.0186/$ U.S. dollar 3-month interest rate 5% Norwegian Krone 3-month interest rate 4.45% Based on the above information, what hedging strategy shouldAri advise the CFO that works the best for Statoil? Explain why Ari should choose such a hedging strategy. How much U.S. dollar will Statoil receive at the end of 3 months by using this hedging strategy?

Essentials Of Investments
11th Edition
ISBN:9781260013924
Author:Bodie, Zvi, Kane, Alex, MARCUS, Alan J.
Publisher:Bodie, Zvi, Kane, Alex, MARCUS, Alan J.
Chapter1: Investments: Background And Issues
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1PS
icon
Related questions
Question

Statoil, the national company in Norway, is a large, sophisticated, and active participant in both the currency and petrochemical markets. Although it is a Norwegian company, because it operates within the global oil market, it considers the U.S. dollar ($), rather than the Norwegian krone (Nok), as its functional currency. Ari Karlsen is a currency trading strategist for Statoil. Answer the following two independent questions a) and b):

a) Statoil sold 1 million barrels of crude oil to the Norwegianpetrol station chain, Circle K, today for 120 Nok per barrel (Nok denotes the Norwegian Krone). Statoil expects to receive the full payments from Circle K in 3 months’ time when the crude oil is delivered to Circle K’s facilities in Norway. Statoil is informed that Circle K will pay for the oil in Norwegian Krone. Ari is asked by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) about the strategy to reduce the uncertainty around the expected payment from Circle K. Ari is faced with the following market rates:

Spot Exchange Rate

Nok 6.0312/$

3-month forward rate

Nok 6.0186/$

U.S. dollar 3-month interest rate

5%

Norwegian Krone 3-month interest rate

4.45%

Based on the above information, what hedging strategy shouldAri advise the CFO that works the best for Statoil? Explain why Ari should choose such a hedging strategy. How much U.S. dollar will Statoil receive at the end of 3 months by using this hedging strategy? 

 

b) In a daily meeting, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) gave Ari the following table of market rates

Spot exchange rate:

Yen 106/$

U.S. dollar interest rate per annum

10%

Japanese Yen interest rate per annum

6%

and told Ari that the company’s financial analyst expected the Japanese Yen to depreciate against the U.S. dollar by 3.46% in 90 days. Assume there are 360 days in a year, and all interest rates are simple interest rates. If the financial analyst’s prediction about the US dollar and Japanese Yen turned out to be true:

b.1) What would the spot exchange rate (Yen/$) be in 90 days? 

b.2) Would Ari make a profit by borrowing 1 million US dollars and investing in the money markets?

       If yes, how much profit would Ari realize in 90 days?

       If no, explain why.

Expert Solution
steps

Step by step

Solved in 2 steps with 2 images

Blurred answer
Knowledge Booster
Commodity Price Risk
Learn more about
Need a deep-dive on the concept behind this application? Look no further. Learn more about this topic, finance and related others by exploring similar questions and additional content below.
Similar questions
Recommended textbooks for you
Essentials Of Investments
Essentials Of Investments
Finance
ISBN:
9781260013924
Author:
Bodie, Zvi, Kane, Alex, MARCUS, Alan J.
Publisher:
Mcgraw-hill Education,
FUNDAMENTALS OF CORPORATE FINANCE
FUNDAMENTALS OF CORPORATE FINANCE
Finance
ISBN:
9781260013962
Author:
BREALEY
Publisher:
RENT MCG
Financial Management: Theory & Practice
Financial Management: Theory & Practice
Finance
ISBN:
9781337909730
Author:
Brigham
Publisher:
Cengage
Foundations Of Finance
Foundations Of Finance
Finance
ISBN:
9780134897264
Author:
KEOWN, Arthur J., Martin, John D., PETTY, J. William
Publisher:
Pearson,
Fundamentals of Financial Management (MindTap Cou…
Fundamentals of Financial Management (MindTap Cou…
Finance
ISBN:
9781337395250
Author:
Eugene F. Brigham, Joel F. Houston
Publisher:
Cengage Learning
Corporate Finance (The Mcgraw-hill/Irwin Series i…
Corporate Finance (The Mcgraw-hill/Irwin Series i…
Finance
ISBN:
9780077861759
Author:
Stephen A. Ross Franco Modigliani Professor of Financial Economics Professor, Randolph W Westerfield Robert R. Dockson Deans Chair in Bus. Admin., Jeffrey Jaffe, Bradford D Jordan Professor
Publisher:
McGraw-Hill Education