Convolutional neural network forecasting of European Union allowances futures using a novel unconstrained transformation method

This paper develops an open-high-low-close (OHLC) data forecasting framework to forecast EUA futures price based on EU ETS data and extended exogenous variables from 2013 to 2020. The challenge of forecasting such an OHLC structure lies in handling its three intrinsic constraints, i.e., the positive constraint, interval constraint, and boundary constraint. This paper proposes a novel unconstrained transformation method for OHLC data and combines it with various forecasting models. Out-of-sample modelings identify the extraordinary performance of the convolutional neural network (CNN) in terms of MAPE (1.371%), MAE (0.274), RMSE (0.370), and AR (0.621), better than that of multiple linear regression (MLR), vector auto-regression (VAR) and vector error correction model (VECM), support vector regression (SVR), and multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The proposed transformation-based forecasting framework demonstrates the considerable potential for OHLC data forecasting in the energy finance field, e.g., crude and natural gas. Practicable and concrete suggestions are provided to ensure the profitability of trading EUA futures.