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Correlation Clustering: Analysis of Major Agricultural Commodity Markets
288-302Views:278The aim of this article is to compare the clusters formed by the correlation distances between the agricultural and the energy commodity price returns in different periods of time. The energy and agricultural markets have become more interlinked in the past ten years, which can be attributed partly to the increased usage of biofuels. According to the results of this research, after the global financial and economic crisis of 2008/09, the relationship has become tighter between the agricultural commodity prices and the price of the crude oil. Based on the hierarchical clustering, the relationship between crude oil and sugar, and especially between crude oil and vegetable oils has become stronger. These results support the hypothesis of a more interconnected agricultural and energy market after 2013. Furthermore, the emerged relationship of crude oil with the vegetable oils may indicate the connecting role of biofuels, since biofuels require agricultural input materials, partly vegetable oils. However, the role of biofuels in the present analysis requires further researches.