Soybean Oil Option Price
The
futures soybean oil price, and the soybean oil option price is not the same thing. Option price valuation
is not as straightforward as futures valuation. Option premium is comprised of intrinsic value and extrinsic value.
An option has intrinsic value if the market is trading above the strike price of a call option, or
below the strike price of a put option. If an option contract has intrinsic value it is called “in the money.”
If an option contract does not have intrinsic value it is called “out of the money.”
For example:
If
soybean oil is trading at $.30 a $.28 call option is $.02 in the money so the intrinsic value of the option is $1,200.
The extrinsic value of the option is its “time value.” Extrinsic value takes into account
the possibility that an option may go in the money by expiration. The more time that an option has, the more extrinsic value
it has. As an option approaches its expiration date it loses value. This is called time decay. At expiration an option has
no extrinsic value so if the option is out of the money it expires worthless.
Soybean oil option prices do not move in tandem with futures prices. A $.01 move in your favor
in the soybean oil futures markets does not necessarily equal to a $.01 increase in the soybean oil option value. The
amount that an option value will increase based upon an increase in its futures price is called its delta. Call option deltas
are measures from 0 to 1. As an option goes from “out of the money” to “in the money” its delta increases.
For example:
If a soybean oil call option has a delta of
.5 and the price of the soybean oil futures market increases by $.01 the value of the option will increase by $.005 or
$300.If you are a speculator with a limited amount of risk capital then soybean oil
options may be best way for you to invest in the soybean oil market.
