In this paper we study the existence of arbitrage opportunities in a multi-asset market when risk-neutral marginal distributions of asset prices are known. We first propose an intuitive characterization of the absence of arbitrage opportunities in terms of copula functions. We then address the problem of detecting the presence of arbitrage by formalizing its resolution in two distinct ways that are both suitable for the use of optimization algorithms. The first method is valid in the general multivariate case and is based on Bernstein copulas that are dense in the set of all copula functions. The second one is easier to work with but is only valid in the bivariate case. It relies on results about improved Fréchet–Hoeffding bounds in presence of additional information. For both methods, details of implementation steps and empirical applications are provided.

Our first aim in this paper is to introduce a futures-based model able of capturing the main features displayed by Crude Oil futures and options contracts, such as the Samuelson volatility effect and the volatility smile. We calculate the joint characteristic function of two futures contracts in the model in analytic form and use it to price calendar spread options. In an empirical application we show that the model, in contrast to simpler nested models, can be successfully calibrated to market prices of vanilla and calendar spread options. Our second aim is to use this model to analyze the dependence structure of Crude Oil futures contracts. To this end, we propose analytical expressions giving the copula and copula density directly in terms of the joint characteristic function. These tools allow us to perform an in-depth analysis for pairs of futures, and we observe a phenomenon we call the Samuelson correlation effect.

We examine the asset pricing implications of sustainability in commodity markets. We focus on metals and agricultural goods, for which we collect production-based environmental footprint data, namely greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. We then build green-minus-brown portfolios and find no evidence that sustainability is priced in the cross-section of metals’ and agricultural commodities’ returns. We also document strong welfare benefits when diversifying equity and bond allocations with low-carbon commodities. Investor welfare, measured by the certainty equivalent return, increases by 22% when the commodity share is 20%. These results reveal the dual opportunities, both financial and environmental, brought by low footprint commodities.