Which of the following represents the gain or loss (to the nearest thousand dollars) that will accrue to Company W assuming that the price of the commodity rises to $800 in three months’ time?

Company W produces mobile phone components and has recently tendered for a substantial contract. The results of the tendering process will not become available until three months from now. If the company is successful it will require 2,000 units of a commodity which is currently traded in an open commodity market for $740 per unit.

However, there has been speculation that this commodity could increase substantially in price over the next three months and so the company is considering purchasing the commodity now and storing it for three months.

The funds to buy the commodity would be borrowed at an annual interest rate of 7% and the storage cost of the product would be $5.40 per unit per month. The storage costs would be paid at the end of the three month storage period.

Which of the following represents the gain or loss (to the nearest thousand dollars) that will accrue to Company W assuming that the price of the commodity rises to $800 in three months’ time?
A . $62,000 gain
B . $95,000 gain
C . $88,000 gain
D . $16,000 loss

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Answer: A