The rise of sovereign commodity risk management

The unprecedented commodity price volatility of the past four years has led to a surge of interest from governments in risk management strategies. Investment banks are in talks with sovereigns worldwide on setting up financial hedges, and say uptake is booming, while the IMF and World Bank are providing advice and training. Ned Molloy reports

Many countries have been plunged into financial chaos by commodity price swings, yet sovereign commodity risk management still lags behind the practices of the corporate world. This is rapidly starting to change, experts say, as several years of extreme volatility spur governments around the world to take a more active stance towards managing their exposure to commodity prices.

A few pioneering exporters and importers, especially in Latin America and Africa, have set up financial hedging