Hourly Oil Price Volatility: The Role of COVID-19

Abstract

In this paper, we study the evolution of hourly oil price volatility. Using multiple measures of oil price volatility, we conclude that volatility increased following the onset of COVID-19. After controlling for conventional predictors of oil price volatility, we show that COVID-19 cases and deaths led to an increase in daily oil price volatility by between 8% and 22%. Our results pass a battery of robustness tests.