Skew/variance premium in ag options around ENSO onsets

Cannot be evaluated on obtainable data. Requires historical option-implied volatility surface for agricultural futures.

Conclusion: Disqualified

Not tested. The data required does not exist in obtainable form, so no result is claimed in either direction.

Verdict
DQ
data-blocked
Tests run
0
cannot be run
Blocker
Data
not method
Resolvable
Yes
with purchase

Method

Hypothesis

Skew/variance premium in ag options around ENSO onsets

Analysis

Basis for disqualification

The hypothesis is not whether realised volatility rises around ENSO onsets — that was tested and returned noise (3 hits in 39 tests). It is whether realised volatility exceeds what options were pricing at the time. That requires a historical implied-vol surface. yfinance exposes only the current option chain with no history, so the variance risk premium cannot be measured at any point in the past.

Publishing this as a verdict rather than dropping it keeps the denominator honest: a hypothesis that was never tested must not be mistaken for one that failed.

Evaluation

Table 1 · Why this cannot be evaluated

FieldDetail
RequiresHistorical option-implied volatility surface for agricultural futures
ReasonThe hypothesis is not whether realised volatility rises around ENSO onsets — that was tested and returned noise (3 hits in 39 tests). It is whether realised volatility exceeds what options were pricing at the time. That requires a historical implied-vol surface. yfinance exposes only the current option chain with no history, so the variance risk premium cannot be measured at any point in the past.
Where it existsHistorical option-implied volatility surfaces are distributed by OptionMetrics (IvyDB), CME DataMine and Barchart. Availability and terms not assessed here.
The hypothesis is untested, not refuted; the obstacle is data availability rather than method.

Reference

Instruments

last price and one-month change, live from Yahoo Finance
SymbolNotes
Not in the instrument table.

Sample

not evaluable

Sources

Required and unavailable
Historical option-implied volatility surface for agricultural futures

Revision history

RevStageStatusChange
01DraftDirection and criteria fixed before the experiment ran
02AssessedDisqualifiedRequired data is not obtainable; recorded rather than dropped
algorithmic-trading-anthology-july-2026-skew-variance-premium-in-ag-options-around-enso-onsets | d/rksci