Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2012
In this paper, we will show how to obtain asymptotic solutions for the problem of pricing Asian options. Under the assumption that the underlying follows geometric Brownian motion, we will derive Taylor expansion series for the fixed and floating strike Asian options. While there will be no analytical formulae for calculating expansion coefficients, we will provide relatively simple algorithms for calculating them. The methodology is particularly effective for the case of continuously sampled fixed-strike Asian calls where it takes only seconds to obtain constants for the Taylor expansion series that can converge beyond 10 significant digits. It is needless to say that we need to calculate Taylor expansion constants only once and the option price would be an analytical expression constructed from a cumulative normal distribution function, an exponential function and finite sums.