Exploring the interplay between eurozone electricity sector stocks, real interest rates and inflation expectations

This paper examines the relationship between Eurozone electricity sector portfolios and interest rate changes from 2019 to 2022 using quantile regression. We distinguish between changes in nominal interest rates caused by changes in real interest rates and those caused by changes in expected inflati...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Esparcia Sanchís, Carlos, Jareño Cebrián, Francisco, Navarro Arribas, Eliseo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha
Repositorio:RUIdeRA. Repositorio Institucional de la UCLM
OAI Identifier:oai:ruidera.uclm.es:10578/43840
Acceso en línea:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2025.104252
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056025004150?via%3Dihub
https://hdl.handle.net/10578/43840
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Duration
European electricity market
Expected inflation rates
Inflation-linked swaps
Interest rates
Quantile regression
Descripción
Sumario:This paper examines the relationship between Eurozone electricity sector portfolios and interest rate changes from 2019 to 2022 using quantile regression. We distinguish between changes in nominal interest rates caused by changes in real interest rates and those caused by changes in expected inflation. A new feature is the used of inflation-linked swaps to measure inflation expectations. This decomposition provides a richer view of how variations in nominal interest rates affect electricity portfolios. It indicates that real rate changes significantly impact electricity stock returns, while nominal rate changes due to variations in inflation expectations have a smaller effect. The research splits the sample period into two subperiods: a stable period (2019–2020) and a volatile period (2021–2022). Note that an initial training period to calibrate the electricity portfolio optimization approach (January 2015–December 2018) is also included. We also distinguish between companies based on their debt levels. Our findings support the hypothesis that the European electricity sector is significantly exposed to interest rate changes, with notable differences depending on companies leverage. The impact of interest rate changes on electricity portfolio returns is more pronounced during extreme market conditions, such as bearish market states. However, quantile regression analysis suggests that in certain scenarios, electricity companies can pass on some inflationary shocks to their product prices, particularly during bullish market states.