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GBPJPY - Yen will continue its weakness?!The GBPJPY currency pair is above the EMA200 and EMA50 in the 4H timeframe and is moving in its medium-term bullish channel. If the upward movement continues, we can see the supply zone and sell within that zone with the appropriate risk reward. The BRC retail report in the UK indicated that retail sales in October 2024 only grew by 0.3%, a significant drop compared to the 1.7% growth in September. This decline is attributed to consumers’ caution ahead of Black Friday promotions and school half-term holidays, which were delayed compared to usual. Helen Dickinson, CEO of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), stated, “After a strong start in autumn, October sales growth was disappointing. Part of this decline was due to the later timing of school half-term holidays, which reduced sales, but it is expected that November will show better performance.” She also noted that consumer sentiment has been affected by uncertainties surrounding future budgets and rising energy costs. According to the latest Citi/YouGov survey, British households’ inflation expectations for the coming year have reached 3.3%, and long-term household inflation expectations remain at 3.8%. Analysts at Citi Investment Bank suggest that these figures indicate that despite efforts by the Bank of England to curb inflation, public inflation expectations remain high. In Japan, the government has designed a support plan for the country’s semiconductor industry that involves leveraging assets such as its shares in NTT, with the program spanning several years. Instead of direct subsidies, the plan includes a multi-stage approach. Semiconductor equipment manufacturers receive subsidies while moving towards mass production, and once they reach this stage, the government shifts to other forms of support such as private sector investments and financial guarantees, extending this process until around 2030. Sakurai, a former board member of the Bank of Japan (BoJ), announced that the central bank is likely to raise interest rates again in the coming months, with January being a potential timing for this action. The aim is to increase short-term interest rates to 1.5% or 2% by the end of Ueda’s term in early 2028.
Short
by Ali_PSND
Interest Rate Strategies: Trade Smarter with Fed Rate DecisionsInterest Rate Strategies: Trade Smarter with Fed Rate Decisions Trading interest rates may seem straightforward at first: buy when cuts end and sell when they fall. However, this approach often defies expectations, as determining when rate cuts truly end isn't as simple as pointing to a rate pause following a cut. While today’s Federal Reserve rate decisions are made during scheduled (and unscheduled emergency) Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, this wasn’t always the case. Before the 1990s, the Fed often made changes outside of meetings. The shift to exclusively deciding rates during FOMC meetings was implemented to provide greater transparency and predictability for markets. Topics Covered: How Are Interest Rates Traded? Three Interest Rate Trading Strategies. Key Insights from Backtesting Interest Rate Trading Strategies. Interest Rate Trading Indicator (Backtest For Yourself). █ How Are Interest Rates Traded? This strategy focuses on trading around Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, including hikes (increases), cuts (decreases), and pauses. These decisions are believed by many to have both short- and long-term effects on the market. Key Strategy Concepts Backtested: Buy on Rate Pauses or Increases: Go long (buy) when the Fed pauses or raises interest rates, typically signaling market stability or optimism. Sell on Rate Decreases: Go short (sell) or close longs when the Fed cuts rates, often indicating economic concerns or slowing growth. Buy on Specific Rate Decreases: Enter trades when the Fed implements specific rate cuts, such as 50 basis points (bps) which represents 0.5%, and analyze market reactions over different time horizons. █ Strategy: Long during Pauses and Increases, Short during Decreases This section examines the effectiveness of going long on rate pauses or increases and shorting during decreases. This strategy performed well between 2001 and 2009, but underperformed after 2009 and before 2001 compared to holding positions. The main challenge is the unpredictability of future rate changes. If you could foresee rate trends over two years, decision-making would be easier, but that’s rarely the case, making this strategy less reliable in certain periods. 2001-2009 Trade Result: 67.02% Holding Result: -31.19% 2019-2021 Trade Result: 19.28% Holding Result: 25.22% 1971-Present Trade Result: 444.13% Holding Result: 5694.12% █ Strategy: Long 50bps Rate Cuts This section evaluates trading around 50 basis point (bps) rate cuts, which is a 0.5% decrease. Large cuts usually respond to economic stress, and market reactions can vary. While these cuts signal aggressive economic stimulation by the Fed, short-term responses are often unpredictable. The strategy tends to perform better over longer timeframes, as markets absorb the effects. 1971-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: -0.19% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: 2.41% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: 2.46% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 11.4% 2001-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: -2.12% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: -1.84% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: -3.72% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 1.72% 2009-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: -15.79% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: -6.11% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: 7.07% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 29.92% █ Strategy: Long Any Rate Cuts This section reviews the performance of buying after any rate cut, not just large ones. Rate cuts usually signal economic easing and often improve market conditions in the long run. However, the size of the cut and its context greatly influence how the market reacts over different timeframes. 1971-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: 0.33% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: 2.65% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: 4.38% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 8.4% 2001-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: -1.12% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: -0.69% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: -1.59% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 0.22% 2009-Present Trade Duration: 10 trading days — Average Return: -3.38% Trade Duration: 50 trading days — Average Return: 3.26% Trade Duration: 100 trading days — Average Return: 12.55% Trade Duration: 250 trading days — Average Return: 12.54% █ Key Insights from Backtesting Interest Rate Trading Strategies The first assumption I wanted to test was whether you should sell when rate cuts begin and buy when they end. The results were inconclusive, mainly due to the difficulty of predicting when rate cuts will stop. A rate pause might suggest cuts are over, but that’s often not the case, as shown below. One key finding is that the best time to be fully invested is when rates fall below 1.25% or 1.00%, as this has historically led to stronger market performance. But this can be subject to change. █ Interest Rate Trading Indicator (Backtest For Yourself) Indicator Used For Backtesting (select chart below to open): The 'Interest Rate Trading (Manually Added Rate Decisions) ' indicator analyzes U.S. interest rate decisions to determine trade entries and exits based on user-defined criteria, such as rate increases, decreases, pauses, aggressive changes, and more. It visually marks key decision dates, including both rate changes and pauses, offering valuable insights for trading based on interest rate trends. Historical time periods are highlighted for additional context. The indicator also allows users to compare the performance of an interest rate trading strategy versus a holding strategy.
SP:SPXEducation
by TanHef
Rate Cut Incoming. Buckle Up"What the Yield Curve and Fed Moves Mean for Your Next Trade." Historically, when the Federal Reserve lowers the federal funds rate while the yield spread is negative (also known as an inverted yield curve), it has often been an indicator of an impending market correction or recession. Let’s break this down: Historically, the bond market is a key indicator. Typically, long-term bonds offer higher yields than short-term bonds; This a healthy sign. When that flips and short-term yields surpass long-term ones, we get what’s called an inverted yield curve. This inversion signals that investors are getting nervous about the near-term economy. When the Fed then steps in to lower rates, they’re trying to stimulate growth, but it often comes too late. Looking back at past events: The dot-com crash of 2000: The yield curve inverted, the Fed cut rates, and a 35% market correction followed. The 2008 financial crisis: Again, the yield curve inverted, rates were cut, and the market saw a major downturn exceeding 50%. Going back even further, the same pattern held in the 1970s and 1980s. The big questions are: Why does this combination signal trouble? Will this pattern repeat itself again? While history tends to repeat itself, the data shows that when the Fed cuts rates with a negative yield spread, market corrections often follow. The inverted curve suggests tighter credit conditions, reduced lending, and lack of confidence, all piling on top of one another creating a recipe for disaster. Stepping back even further, we see that investor sentiment and the bond market tend to lead the way. Credit tightens, and companies cut back on spending. Another a perfect recipe for an economic slowdown and market drop. It's a familiar cycle. So lets buckle up.
TVC:DJIShort
by oh92
1
lets talk about halving Take your time to readCRYPTO:BTCUSD This is not a trend analysis or signal of any kind just my own speculation about what may come to happen after the halving . as we know the last cycle coincided with the fed cutting rates and the money printing going crazy like brrrrr . although we can expect at least another round of rate cuts in 2024 nothing is really guaranteed this cycle . we've been seeing consolidation in the BINANCE:BTCUSDT chart for the last couple months . now I'm not really bearish but what scares me is that last time we had the rate cuts then the halving kicked in and we gone from nearly 3k all the way to 64k before any major correction . If a sell the news event was going to occur after the halving we could expect a few weeks to a couple months of downward selling pressure on bitcoin price before major upside gains . I don't say such scenario will happen but it's better to be prepared incase of such event . what i personally do is just have 50 percent of my capital ready to invest if the markets go down as the result of a black swan event because we do have the institutional support this cycle but at the same time after about 4 years of experience in the markets i know that brokers and institutions love to liquidate the retail before major moves . So i think although the trend is bullish in the long term we might have extra volatility in the short term and it pays to be ready for any possible move . thanks for your time. use this information with due diligence.
CRYPTO:BTCUSD
by Atlas_Tradingclub
Fed keeps rates steady, Banxico up next The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates steady at 5.25%-5.50% while continuing its balance sheet reduction as planned since May 2023. In contrast, the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) might announce a rate cut tomorrow. It's anticipated that Banxico could decrease its interest rate from 11.25% to 11%, potentially applying pressure on the Mexican peso. This could drive the USD/MXN rate closer to the 17.00 mark, diverging further from its 10-year low. Some Fib levels from its recent swing higher could also be some interesting, more assessable, targets However, the possibility of a rate cut from Banxico is not guaranteed, given potential divisions within its Governing Council. Recent speeches by officials indicate a 3-2 split, with some members leaning towards a more accommodative approach, while others like Jonathan Heath and Irene Espinosa Cantellano favor a hawkish stance.
by BlackBull_Markets
us10y and the secondary wave of inflation.before you read any further, read my post from april: --- it has been awhile since i've given a public update on the us10y and my general theory about where i believe these rates are headed. back in april of 2023, i gave an upside target of 5.9% for the us10y. as of today, i'm raising the range for that upside target into the window between 6-9%, going into the end of 2024. i'm aware that jpow has mentioned in the last few fed meetings that he has no intention of raising the rates any further, but i'm seeing a significant development on many of the charts this week which tells me otherwise. so i'm calling him out on his bluff. --- us10y w5 algo = 6-9%
TVC:US10Y
by Eloquent
!!! ↘︎ Multi-day Streak(period): No Santa this Christmas ↘︎ !!!✺ End of Bulls rally after the most successful trading day since April. ✺ The possibility of the Goldilocks scenario - is it on the horizon? ✓ PPI data has been reported today. Key fact: "Firms no longer optimistic" BLACKBULL:SPX500 After the longest period of growth in 2024, the market closed at -0.41 rate, putting the end to the robust bulls rally since the last week. The PPI report came out during the pre-market hours. The result, from the surface was seemingly positive from market perspective. Although, always the detail is the devil. The overall result came out in favor of regular consumer, seeing drastic decrease in manufacturing cost in total: (Processed goods for intermediate demand) Prices for processed goods for intermediate demand moved down 0.9 percent in October, the largest decrease since falling 1.6 percent in May. Leading the October decline, the index for processed energy goods dropped 4.3 percent. Prices for processed foods and feeds decreased 0.4 percent. In contrast, the index for processed materials less foods and energy advanced 0.1 percent. For the 12 months ended in October, prices for processed goods for intermediate demand fell 4.5 percent. The largest contribute to the odds was the transportation and warehousing which increased for about 1.5 percent. The warehousing and transportation contains various subjects from regular staffing needs to delivery of goods, signifying that the era of pandemic is yet remain in the market. The Empire state manufacturing Survey begins with the headline, "Firms No Longer Optimistic," as the future business conditions index plunging from twenty-four points to -0.9, the lowest since 2022. Troublesome in logistics with increased unfulfilled shipment, lacking number of employees, decreased employee work hours, signifying operational challenges residing within the industry. Facing these resilient challenges, business have forecasted in contrast to market's optimistic expectations: General business conditions from twenty-three to -0.9 followed by decreased number of new orders, increased unfilled orders and shipments, lacking performance over all. Back to the graph, here are some key price-lines for the rest of this week on BLACKBULL:SPX500 (red lines): 1. Bull $4506-4521 (Largest volume allocated for the last 5 days) 2. Bear $4393.66-4360 (Largest volume allocated since Oct 28th) With few significant leaps in the previous week and this Monday, the market might have fooled us by acting as if these were the clues as to guarantee the potential end of the year rally. With big CPI report and lots of unexpected positive earnings from larger tech firms and overall, we were able to get through the $4393 resistance level without a hurdle, and it seems that we just ran out of those events to create the unexpectencies to get us through the new high. Plus, the Inverse U-shape pattern is one of my favorite along with Inverse W-pattern (or Double top), and as large the previous leap was, this down trend will also be way much more accelerated with higher velocity than which we anticipated. We all know that demand is the driving factor of the market, but without the proper level of supply to meet the market needs, will only cause higher inflation, simply will lead to another rate hike from the fed. I think today's inverse trend was only the smallest part portraying the fear residing beneath the surface.
BLACKBULL:SPX500Short
by Kim_CLSPX
SR3: Trading Opportunities in a Disrupted Treasury MarketCBOT: Three-MO SOFR Futures ( CME:SR31! ) Breaking News: The US Treasury bonds are risk-free No Longer ! Last Friday, top credit ratings agency Moody's lowered its credit outlook on the U.S. to "negative" from "stable", citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability. It has so far maintained the AAA credit rating for U.S. sovereign bonds. This move follows a rating downgrade by Fitch, another major ratings agency. On August 1st this year, Fitch cut U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+, a decision made following months of political brinkmanship around the U.S. debt ceiling. Going back, the S&P was the first credit agency to give Uncle Sam a bad grade. It cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ in August 2011 and has maintained it ever since. U.S. credit rating is now lower than that of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the European Union. These countries all enjoy AAA ratings from the top-3 major ratings agencies. The risk-free assumption on US Treasury bonds has long been the foundation of the global credit market. It typically measures the riskiness of a debt issue by adding risk premium(s) on top of a risk-free interest rate, which by default is the Fed Funds rate. If the U.S. bonds are no longer deemed risk-free, should we change “the mother of all reference rates” with a new risk-free rate? It would be like cracking the foundation of the Empire State Building and will bring chaos to the $133-trillion global bond market. In my opinion, this Doomsday scenario is very unlikely to occur. ‘A revisit of the following high-profile credit market events helps us understand why. August 2011: the S&P downgraded U.S. credit rating On August 5, 2011, the S&P announced its decision to give its first-ever downgrade to U.S. sovereign debt, lowering the rating by one notch to "AA+", with a negative outlook. S&P was direct in its criticism of the governance and policy-making process, which took the U.S. to the brink of default as part of the 2011 U.S. debt-ceiling crisis. This unprecedented downgrade drew sharp criticism from the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress, but the S&P refused to budge. What did the investors think? • The 10-Year Note with a par value of 100 traded at around 130 before the downgrade. A month later, its price hardly moved. By year end 2011, the 10Y note rose to 132. • The 30-Year Bond was quoted at 136. It reached 145 by year end, up 6.6%. • Following the downgrade, the S&P 500 lost 7.6% in August. But it quickly rebounded. The S&P ended the year at 1,258, up 3.3% from before the downgrade. I rephrase a famous quote to explain what happened: “When the U.S. sneezes, the World catches a cold.” The U.S. downgrade created a bigger chao in global markets. Investors pulled money out of emerging markets, which were considered even riskier. They put money back in the U.S. stocks and bonds, which, ironically, are deemed safer. There has not been any long-term impact from the S&P downgrade, or from its decision to keep U.S. rating at the less-than-perfect rating: • The S&P settled at 4,415 last Friday, up 260% since the downgrade in 2011; • US GDP has grown from $15.6 trillion in 2011 to $25.5 trillion in 2022, up 63%; • In 2011, US national debt totaled $14.8 trillion, a level the S&P considered as “unsustainable”. It has now mushroomed to $33.7 trillion, up 128%. The U.S. government has not defaulted on any debt or missed any interest payment. August 2023: Fitch downgraded U.S. credit rating In a surprise move on August 1st, Fitch downgraded U.S. Treasuries to AA+ from AAA. The U.S. markets were already in decline following the July 25th Fed decision to raise interest rates by 25 bps to 5.25-5.50%. Markets were clearly driven by the Fed, and the Fitch downgrade was merely a footnote. • The 10-Year Note traded at around 112 at the time of the downgrade. It fell as much as 6% to 105. The 10Y note has recovered somewhat to 107 by Monday. • The 30-Year Bond was quoted at 136. It dipped to 108 (-20%) by October, and it’s now quoted at 113, a rebound of nearly 5%. • Following the July rate hike, the S&P 500 has dropped from 4,588 to 4,117, a sharp 10% drawdown. However, it has since staged ten winning streaks, pushing the index back to 4,415, an impressive 300-point rebound (+7.2%). November 2023: Moody’s lowered U.S. credit outlook Last Friday November 10th, Moody's kept U.S. credit rating at AAA, but lowered its outlook to "negative" from "stable", citing large fiscal deficits and a decline in debt affordability. • The 10-Year Note ended the day at 4.646%, a modest gain of 0.016%. • The 30-Year Bond was settled 4.756%, down 0.011%. • The S&P 500 closed at 4,415, up 68 points or +1.6%. The U.S. hardly moved on Monday, as investors waited for the new inflation data. Today, the BLS reports that October CPI was unchanged from previous month, with the annual headline CPI dropping to 3.0%, below market expectations. The S&P pushed up 2% to reach 4,500 in morning trading. There you see how little the impact from a downgrade. Trading with CBOT SOFR Futures In “SOFR: Farewell to LIBOR”, published on July 3rd, I explained that the Securitized Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) has already replaced the London Interbank Offering Rate (LIBOR) as the leading global credit market benchmark. If you are curious about what this means to you, check out your credit card agreement. You would find that the bank interest rate calculation usually consists of a “prime rate” and a markup, where the prime rate is defined as the sum of SOFR and a fixed rate. CBOT 3-Month SOFR Futures ( FWB:SR3 ) lists 40 quarterly contracts. It shows what the SOFR would be, quarter by quarter, ten years down to road. Based on Friday settlement prices and volume, here is the market consensus on SOFR through the end of 2024: • Current Fed Funds rate: 5.25-5.50% • December 2023 SOFR: 5.415%, volume: 265,153 • March 2024 SOFR: 5.350%, volume: 283,053 • June 2024 SOFR: 5.140%, volume: 324,902 • September 2024 SOFR: 4.880%, volume: 469,238 • December 2024: SOFR: 4.605%, volume: 402,005 SOFR futures are the most liquid futures contracts in the world. On Friday, 2,787,432 lots changed hands. Open interest was 10,655,832 contracts. The contracts showed here each traded over a quarter million lots in a single day. We could assume that market prices reflect best investor consensus on interest rate level at any given time in the future. Here are my observations: • The lead December contract is quoted at 5.415%, in line with the current Fed Funds range of 5.25-5.50%. It dropped to 5.3675% Tuesday after the CPI data. • The September 2024 quote of 4.635% on Tuesday, is 62-87 bps below range, indicating 2-3 rate cuts of 25 bps within the next ten months. • The December 2024 quote of 4.330% is 92-107 bps below range, indicating three to four rate cuts by the end of next year. In my opinion, the Fed decision, the Fed Chair statement and the latest data on payrolls and inflation, sent conflicting signals to the market, creating confusion among investors. Market prices are temporarily dislocated, which may present trading opportunities. The September 2024 quote indicates two or three rate cuts. I think that this assumption is too aggressive. The Fed, in both its statements and the Fed Chair public comments, repeatedly stressed that it never raised the issue of if or when to cut rates. If a trader holds the view that the September SOFR rate shall rise, he could express it with a short position in SOFR futures. The quoting convention of SOFR future is 100-R, where R is the effective interest rate. If the rate goes up, futures price will go down. SOFR contracts have a notional value of $2,500 x contract-grade IMM Index. Each 1 basis-point move would result in a gain or loss of $25 per contract. The minimum margins are $850 for the September contract. Hypothetically, if the trader is correct and the rates turn out to be 25 bps high, he would have a theoretical return of $625 per contract (= 25 X 25). The trader would lose money if the Fed cut rates faster than anticipated. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CME:SR3Z2023Short
by JimHuangChicago
ES: Fed Pivot Breathes Life into MarketsCME: E-Mini S&P 500 Options ( CME_MINI:ES1! ) Last Wednesday, investors cheered as the Fed kept interest rates unchanged for the second time in a row. On Friday, a soft jobs report backed up market expectations that the rate-hiking campaign is over. For the full week, the Dow was up by 5.07% in its best week since October 2022. The S&P was higher by 5.85% and the Nasdaq gained 6.61%. It was the best week for both indexes since November 2022. Investors Choose to Ignore What the Fed Says Stock market behavior shows that the Fed is still the dominant driver. Drilling down further, I find that what moves market is not the actual Fed action, but the expectation of what the Fed would do next. Very often, such market-moving expectations could be in direct contradiction of the Fed Chair’s public statement. At the post-FOMC press conference, the Fed Chair said that they had not made a decision for the next meeting. He also stated that pausing now would not prevent the Fed from raising rates again. The Fed Chair stressed that they had not discussed if or when to cut rates. The overarching focus now is to bring inflation down to the 2% target rate. Investors think otherwise. According to CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of keeping rates unchanged on the December 13th FOMC is 95.4% as of November 5th. By the FOMC meeting scheduled on May 1st, 2024, the odds for cutting rates by 25-50 bps are 71%. (Link: www.cmegroup.com) Investors acted upon their expectations. Prior to the Fed meeting, Treasury yields were rising sharply. 10Y rose from 4.5% to above 5.0% in 11 days. In the three days following the rate decision, 10Y took a nosedive and now back to 4.6%. This dramatic changes in yields took place while the Fed did nothing. The stock market rebound could be attributed to the change in expectations too. Lowering rates has the effect of raising the present value of future cash flows, thus increasing a company’s market value, as prescribed by the Discounted Cash Flow valuation method. The collapse of the US dollar is due to the expectations that it would not generate higher returns without further rate increases, according to interest-rate parity theory. Let’s look at two more examples: On July 26th, the Fed raised rates by 25 bps. This was the 11th consecutive rate hike. US stocks rose initially, with the major indexes going up 1-2%. Investors interpreted that this marked the end of Fed tightening. The expectations of Fed Pivot drove market higher, even though the Fed continued to stress the important for fighting inflation. The September 20th FOMC was the first Fed Pause. On face value, this should have been taken as a huge positive. However, investors believed that the Fed would raise rates one more time by year end. US stocks falls so much that both S&P and Nasdaq lost more than 10% from their high and entered contractionary territory. Trading with E-Mini S&P Options What’s the implication from the above observation? 1. Investors may have an easier time forecasting the Fed decision itself than the market reaction after worth. A 95% probability of a Fed Pause could not tell if the stock market would rise or fall after the decision is made. 2. Investor expectations could be adjusted very quickly. Following the Fed decision, the stock market could move up or down by 5% in a week. We could build an event-driven strategy focusing on the December 13th Fed meeting. If we think that the stock market would make a sizable move after the Fed decision, CME E-Mini S&P Options on Futures could be used to express this view. The trade would not be built by this single insight only. There are more: The November jobs report will be released on Friday, December 8th, and the November CPI data will be published on Tuesday, December 12th. These big reports, available to the Fed right before the FOMC, could have a major impact on its rate decision. More importantly, it could alter investor expectations and drive market volatility. The December 2023 contract (ESE3) will be expired on Friday, December 15th, two days after the FOMC. It is also the “Triple Witching Day”, where US stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options contracts all expire on the same trading day. My writeup from September shows that stock market is highly likely to make a big move on Triple Witching and on the days leading up to it. With big reports, Fed decision and Triple Witching all within one week, the stock market could enter wild swings as investors digest new data. Time is ripe for options traders. CME E-Mini S&P 500 Options provide leverage and capital efficiency. Options are based on futures contracts. Contract notional is $50 x S&P 500 Index. On the morning of November 6th, the December futures contract is quoted 4,384. The out-of-the-money (OTM) call strike 4,580 is the most active call options, with over 50,000 lots traded. If a trader purchases a call and it finishes at 100 points above the strike, she will realize a gain of $5,000 (=50 x 100), minus the upfront premium she paid. If the market moves against the trade, with the index value below the strike, she will lose money, up to but not beyond the upfront premium. The OTM put strike traded 1,023 lots. If the trader purchases a put and it finishes 100 points below strike, the trader will also make $5,000, minus the premium. If the market moves against the trade to finish above the put strike, the trader will lose money, up to but not beyond the upfront premium. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CME_MINI:ES1!Long
by JimHuangChicago
6
NZD slides against the Japanese YenThe New Zealand Dollar (NZD) is trading bearish against the Japanese Yen (JPY) at 87.386 on Friday, October 27, 2023, following comments from Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Taro Matsuno that the Bank of Japan (BoJ) is expected to conduct appropriate monetary policy. Matsuno's comments come amid rising expectations that the BoJ will eventually tighten monetary policy in response to rising inflation in Japan. The BoJ has been maintaining an ultra-loose monetary policy stance for many years, but this has led to a significant weakening of the JPY in recent months. The NZDJPY currency pair has been under pressure in recent weeks as investors have priced in the possibility of a more hawkish BoJ. The pair has fallen by over 5% since the start of October. The bearish outlook for NZDJPY is further supported by the technical outlook. The pair has broken below a key support level at 88.00, and is now on track to test the next support level at 86.50. Factors Weighing on NZDJPY There are a number of factors weighing on NZDJPY at present, including: Expectations of BoJ tightening: The BoJ is expected to be one of the last major central banks to tighten monetary policy, which is putting downward pressure on the JPY. Rising inflation in Japan: Japan's inflation rate has been rising in recent months, which is putting pressure on the BoJ to tighten monetary policy. Global risk aversion: Global investors are currently risk averse, which is leading to a sell-off in riskier assets such as the NZD. Weak New Zealand economic data: The New Zealand economy has been slowing in recent months, which is weighing on the NZD. Technical Outlook for NZDJPY The technical outlook for NZDJPY is bearish. The pair has broken below a key support level at 88.00, and is now on track to test the next support level at 86.50. If NZDJPY breaks below 86.50, it could fall to 85.00 or even lower. Trading Strategy Traders who are bearish on NZDJPY could consider shorting the pair at current levels. A stop loss could be placed above the recent high at 88.00. A profit target could be placed at 86.50 or 85.00. It is important to note that the foreign exchange market is volatile and prices can move quickly. Traders should always use risk management techniques when trading currencies.
Short
by masterclass618
Bullish patterns in multiple time framesThe short term price action built a double bottom pattern. Breaking the 1947 area would led the price go up to 1990 level, which was the local top in July. If we look at the long term price action, it formed a bullish pennant. The height of the bar is 450 point. If we add up this to the breaking point (1930), it should tell us the target of this pennant, which is 2350-2380 level. Let's see how the FED's roadmap looks like. If the FED is done with the hiking, than we may see a crazy run. Disclaimer – WhaleGambit. Please be reminded – you alone are responsible for your trading – both gains and losses. There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading. The technical analysis , like all indicators, strategies, columns, articles and other features accessible on/though this site is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment advice by you. Your use of the technical analysis , as would also your use of all mentioned indicators, strategies, columns, articles and all other features, is entirely at your own risk and it is your sole responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness (including suitability) of the information. You should assess the risk of any trade with your financial adviser and make your own independent decision(s) regarding any tradable products which may be the subject matter of the technical analysis or any of the said indicators, strategies, columns, articles and all other features.
OANDA:XAUUSDLong
by WhaleGambit
Surprised by Fed hinting at another rate hike this year?The big story of the day is of course the Fed signaling one more rate hike this year. At the conclusion of its FOMC meeting a few hours ago, The U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged, but projected another rate increase by the end of the year. Additionally, higher for longer is probably the new reality, with projections showing rates falling only half a percentage point in 2024 compared to the full percentage point of cuts anticipated at the meeting in June. Financial markets had widely expected that the Fed would leave rates unchanged, but the revision to its projected cuts has caught markets off-guard. The biggest mover of the day; GBPUSD was doubling impacted by the Fed decision and UK Inflation Rate Slowing Further to 1-1/2-Year Low (to 6.7% in August 2023 from 6.8% in the previous month, falling below the market consensus of 7.0%.) The GBPUSD moved from around 1.238 to a low at 1.233 (but not before some indecision and a shot up to 1.238 within the first hour). In the end, the price fell below the pre-decision (panicked?) low. The current price trades at 1.234 just above that level, but an eye will be kept on this new short-term resistance for the downside prospects of this pair
by BlackBull_Markets
Potential Gold (XAU/USD) Bat; Is gold going down?Soooooo, you know when there's one person in the room that says something crazy.....well I'm possibly about to become that person. My previous post about the long short on the USD/JPY still shows that there is still a little bit of way for the USD to climb before the drop. So, this took me to the gold chart, and here's where we are at present. I have had this bat drawn for around 10 days, and really didn't believe that it would play out, but so far it is. This is IMPORTANT bit....this bat could easily break if closes above point C, it could also really break if it doesn't drop down to point D. To get down to point D we need the DXY to rise....and to get to that point we will need the FED to announce a rate rise. Now I'm fully aware that Wall Street is 60/40 that there will be a halt in rate rises, sending the dollar down, but, and it is a but, this chart is a possibility. If there is a rate hike then the chances are that we are heading to point D at 1866, then put your fib on the CD point and 50% is the TP1, point C is TP2. I'm not saying that any of this will definitely happen, and don't shoot the loony in the room, but it's a possibility that is on the table. Don't forget, the FED won't be worried about throwing the little guy in the street under a bus. Their job is to look after the economy.
TVC:GOLDShort
by BATZ-RULE
Triple Witching Signals Market Turning PointCME: E-Mini S&P 500 Futures ( CME_MINI:ES1! ) Last Friday was the infamous “Triple Witching Day”, where US stock index futures, stock index options, and single-stock options contracts all expired on the same trading day. These phenomena happen only four times a year: on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December. In 2023, Triple Witching occurs on March 17th, June 16th, September 15th, and December 15th. In folklore, the witching hour is a supernatural time of day when evil things may happen. Derivatives traders use this term to magnify the significance of options expiration. Hence the “Triple Witching Day”, and “Triple Witching Hour”, the last hour of trading on that day. Understanding Triple Witching A common expiration date for all three types of equities derivatives could cause increased trading volume and unusual price movements in both the derivatives contracts and the underlying equity assets. Most traders seeking derivatives exposure are either hedgers or speculators. Speculators must offset their open positions prior to the end of triple witching hour. Hedgers, on the other hand, may want to maintain the hedging of their stock portfolio. They could close the existing futures or options positions and roll them out to the next contracts. Some traders opened the contracts with the intention of buying the underlying securities. With any deliverable contract, the seller must deliver the underlying securities to the buyer when the futures contract expires, or if the options are exercised. Triple witching days could generate escalated trading activity and volatility. Although much of the trading during triple witching is related to the squaring of positions, the surge in trading also drives price inefficiencies, which draws short-term arbitrageurs. Traders with large short gamma positions are particularly exposed to price movements leading up to expiration. Arbitrageurs try to take advantage of such abnormal price action. Triple Witching Day on Friday September 15th US stocks fell last Friday as investors wrapped up a volatile week ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming rate-setting meeting on September 19th-20th. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 288.87 points, or -0.83%, to 34,618.24. At its lows, the index completely eliminated Thursday’s 332-point rally. The S&P 500 was lower by 1.22% to 4,450.32. And the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.56% to 13,708.33. In equity derivative market, I found that the high-volume day for CME E-Mini S&P 500 options on futures occurred on Thursday September 14th, the day before Triple Witching. The E-Mini S&P options had a daily volume between 100K and 200K contracts from August to Mid-September. On September 14th, trade volume shot up 92% from the prior trading day to 441,871, and open interest gained 157,913 contracts to 2,459,599. Both trade volume and open interest fell back to normal levels on the next day. This is evidence that traders planned their trades ahead of Triple Witching, so that they could avoid being squeezed on the last trading day and hours. Triple Witching and Market Turning Points Upon further review of the S&P price data, I found that Triple Witching Days in the past two years usually signaled a change in market directions. Following each of the seven such days under examination, the S&P moved up four times and moved down three times. • 12/17/2021: Closed at 4,620. By March, it was 455 points lower, or -9.8% (Down) • 03/18/2022: Closed at 4,463. It declined by 788 points or -17.7% by June (Down) • 06/17/2022: Closed at 3,675. By August, it rose to 4,314, up 639 or +17.4% (Up) • 09/16/2022: Closed at 3,873. It fell to 3,587 by October, down 286 or -7.4% (Down) • 12/16/2022: Closed at 3,852. By February, it reached 4,193, up 341 or +8.8% (Up) • 03/17/2023: Closed at 3,917. In the next 3 months, it rose 606 points, +15.5% (Up) • 06/17/2023: Closed at 4,523. It moved up nearly 100 points, or 2.1% by August (Up) A move by 7-18% in a short time span of three months is quite significant, statistically. The difficulty is to predict which way the S&P goes next, on the day of Triple Witching. The S&P 500: From now till the next Triple Witching Day On September 15th, the S&P 500 closed at 4,450. Where will the S&P be by December 15th, the next Triple Witching Day? One hint could be found in the futures market. The December 2023 contract of E-Mini S&P 500 futures (ESU3) was settled at 4,498, down 4.8% from 4,675 reached on July 27th. March 2024 contract (ESH4) was settled at 4,549, down 4.0% from its recent high. Our analysis from the last section shows that from one Triple Witching Day to the next, the S&P is more likely to make a big move than moving sideways. The December futures price (4,498) is just 1.1% above the cash index (4,450). Would there be a misprice? If the market follows similar patterns from the past two years, we could expect the S&P to go up to 4,800 (+8%), or down to 4,100 (-8%) by December. In my opinion, the S&P faces significant headwind, after running up 20% from its October low. Here are the top-3 that come to mind: • US CPI has rebounded, from 3.0% in June, to 3.2% in July, and 3.7% in August. The government narrative of inflation getting under control is starting to unravel. • The rise in energy and shelter cost will spill over to household cost-of-living and business operating cost. On the one hand, it raises the final price of good and service; on the other, it reduces consumer dispensable income available for other purchases. • According to the Fed, consumer credit card debt hit $1 trillion in Q2. Total student loans outstanding reached $1.78 trillion in Q1. High credit card interest rates and the resumption of student loan repayments will squeeze consumer budget. The Fed would face a difficult decision this week as it debates whether to raise interest rate or pause for the time being. In my view, the Fed is not done with its monetary tightening policy. Even if it holds rate unchanged for now, it could still raise it again in November or December meeting. The overheated inflation data just makes the Fed unlikely to call it a victory after 11 rate hikes. The remaining Fed meetings in 2023, September 20th, November 1st, and December 13th, all holding before the December Triple Witch Day. If the Fed turns out to be less accommodating than the market expects, the S&P could go further down. Each E-Mini S&P 500 futures contract is notional on $50 times the index. At Friday closing price of 4,498, one December contract is valued at $224,900. When the index moves 1 point, the futures account would gain or lose $50. Buying or selling one contract requires an initial margin of $11,200. Alternatively, investors could consider the Micro S&P 500 ( FWB:MES ). It is 1/10th of the E-Mini contract and requires a margin of $1,120. When the index moves 1 point, the futures account would gain or lose $5. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CME_MINI:ES1!Short
by JimHuangChicago
2
Exploring the Weekly OptionsCME: E-Mini Nasdaq 100 Weekly Options ($Q1D-$Q5D) When I first started trading two decades ago, I was overwhelmed by the amount of data that was available. I had a hard time correlating how data relates to price movement. While observing the stock market, I have one question in particular: why does the market often moves drastically immediately after the release of a major report? Over time, I learnt that these reports provide insight into how the economy works. New data validates our assumptions about the future. Take the United States as an example: • Consumers drive the U.S. economy; • Consumers need jobs to be able to buy things and keep the economy going; • The ebb and flow between the degree of joblessness and full employment drive economic activity up or down; • How easy or difficult for households and businesses to get credit affects consumption, jobs, and investment. The following reports have an outsized impact on global financial markets: • The Nonfarm Payroll Report, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS); • The Consumer Price Index, also published by the BLS; • Personal Income and Outlays, by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA); • Gross Domestic Product (GDP), also by the BEA; • Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, this is where the Federal Reserve sets the Fed Funds interest rates, ten times a year; • Interest rate actions by other central banks, including European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, and the People’s Bank of China. Binary Outcomes: Ideal Setting for Options Trading For these highly anticipated reports, investors usually reach a consensus on the expected impact of the new data prior to its release. Market price tends to price in such investor expectations. The next FOMC meeting is on September 20th. According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, the futures market currently expects a 94% probability that the Fed would keep the Fed Funds rate unchanged at the 5.25%-5.50% range. The September contract of CME Fed Funds Futures (ZQU3) is last settled at 94.665. This implies a Fed Funds rate of 5.335%, right in the middle of the target range. When new data is released, investors focus less on the actual data, but more on how it compares to the consensus. Because the prevailing price already reflected market expectation, new data serves to either confirm or dispute it. We could use a range of -1 to +1 to categorize these outcomes: • Well Below Expectations, -1; • Meet Expectations, 0; • Well Above Expectations, +1. The sign of the outcome does not necessarily correspond to a positive or negative price movement. It differs by the type of data and the respective financial instrument. We could further simplify the results into binary outcomes: • Within Expectation: 0, where actual data approximates previous expectation; • Beyond Expectation: 1, either below or above expectation by a pre-defined margin. Both human and computer think in binary terms: Light switch On or Off, Price goes Up or Down, Risk turns On or Off. In derivatives market, we could buy a Call Options if we expect the price to go up, and a Put Options if we think the price will decline. Weekly Options for Event-Driven Strategies The FOMC meeting is the most significant event that affects global markets. Market may stay calm if the Fed keeps rate unchanged (within expectation). However, if the Fed raises rate unexpectedly, you could hear investors screaming all around the world! To trade the Fed decision, investors could form different strategies using a wild variety of instruments, such as stock market indexes, Treasury bonds, forex futures, gold, WTI crude oil, and even bitcoin. Today, we focus on the Nasdaq 100 index. Here are some alternatives to consider: • Nasdaq 100 ETF: many asset managers offer them, including Invesco, iShares and ProShares. From a trader’s perspective, ETFs offer no leverage. A $100K exposure requires $100K upfront investment. If the market moves up 1%, you also gain 1%, minus the fees. • Nasdaq 100 Futures: CME Micro Nasdaq 100 ($MNQ) has a notional value of 2 times the index, valuing it at $31025, given the Nasdaq’s last close at 15512.5. Each contract requires initial margin of $1680. The futures contract is embedded with an 18.5-to-1 leverage. • Nasdaq 100 Options: As the nearby September contract expires on the 3rd Friday, or the 15th, ahead of the FOMC meeting date, we could not use it for our strategy. Instead, we could apply it with the December contract ($NQU3). On September 1st, the 15800-strike Call is quoted $541.50, and the 15400-strike Put is quoted $535. • Weekly Options: On September 1st, the 15800-strike Call to expire in one week is quoted $14.25, while the 15400-strike Put to expire in one week is quoted $54.50. Premiums for the standard American-style Options are expensive. They come with quarterly contracts and quarterly expirations. While our target date is September 20th, we have to use the December contract and acquire 3-1/2-month worth of time value. Weekly options, on the other hand, offer more precise trading and risk management with more expirations. Investors pay low premium to get the exposure they need and avoid the unnecessary and costly time value. For E-Mini Nasdaq 100, the weekly options that expire on Wednesday, September 20th will be listed on the prior Thursday, September 14th. If an investor forms an opinion about the FOMC decision, he could implement it with a weekly call or put next week. Nasdaq Weekly Options are deliverable contracts. If an investor owns a call and it expires in the money, he will settle the contract with a long position in E-Mini Nasdaq 100 futures. Likewise, if he owns an in-the-money put, he will get a short futures position. If the market moves in favor of an investor’s expectation, the potential payoff could be significant due to the leverage in weekly options. If the investor is incorrect, he could lose money, up to the amount of the entire premium. However, the low-premium nature in weekly options helps contain such loss at a tolerable level. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CME_MINI:NQ1!Education
by JimHuangChicago
3
How is Your Trading This Year?30Y Micro Yield ( CBOT_MINI:30Y1! ), Micro Nasdaq ( CME_MINI:MNQ1! ), Chinese Yuan ( CME:CNH1! ), Live Cattle ( CME:LE1! ) On January 2nd, I published an idea titled “Year of the Rabbit: ‘Short-tailed’ Trading”. My outlook for the new year was: “In the new year, uncertainties will remain the key price drivers of global stock markets: central bank policy, inflation, economic growth, geopolitical crisis, and China reopening. Depending on the specific outcome, the impact of a given factor could range from very positive to very negative, and anything in between.” Eight months into 2023, we have witnessed some extraordinary events playing out: • US regional bank crisis shocked the global financial markets. However, swift government actions helped starve off a chain reaction that could trigger systemic risk; • Decades-high US inflation has quickly come down. Fed tightening policy does work, even though it usually has a 10-month lag; • The US debt ceiling has found a resolution. Instead of raising the debt limit, Congress suspected it for two years. In a matter of two months, the national debt has increased by $1.3 trillion. This helped push Fitch to downgrade the US sovereignty rating; • China reopened after three years of Zero-Covid policy. While the economy rebounded in Q1, it quickly deteriorated in Q2. The economic engine seems to lose steam quickly. Trading Strategies Revisited Under these macro backdrops, it’s a good time to revisit some of my own trade ideas. I write on TradingView weekly and have published 31 ideas so far in 2023. Of these ideas, TradingView selected 13 to be featured on “Editors’ Picks”. Below are recaps of four ideas published in July and August. July 10th: Housing Cost Jumps Amid Falling Inflation Trade Idea: Long CBOT 30-Year Micro Yield Futures ($30Y) My theory: • The decline in home sales countered the effect of rising funding cost, putting the mortgage rates in sideway moves. • Now that the housing market recovers, 30-year Fixed could be on the way up. • July FOMC meeting could provide a boost if the Fed raises 25 bp as as indicated by the Fed Watch tool? . Hypothetical Result for Illustration Purpose Only: • Changes in market prices: August contract (30YQ3) was quoted 4.012 on July 7th and 4.381 on August 18th, an increase of 369 points; • Gain (Loss): Each point is worth $1. Therefore, 1 long 30YQ3 would gain $369; • Return: Using the $290 margin as cost base, this trade would have a return of 127%. Where are we now? It’s my long-held belief that the negative yield curve environment would reverse back to normal. Yield spread is finally narrowing. 30Y yield is now higher than 10Y yield. July 24th: Implications of Nasdaq 100 Rebalancing Trade Idea: Spread trade – Buy S&P Technology Select Sector Futures ($XAK) and Sell Micro Nasdaq 100 Futures ($MNQ) My theory: • The Nasdaq 100 rebalancing is a unique issue with the Nasdaq 100 index. It has nothing to do with the fundamentals of these companies and has no impact on other Tech sector stock indexes which also include the same component companies; • In the long run, Nasdaq 100 rebalance will dilute the impact of the largest stocks. Strong growth in Big Tech will be fully represented in XAK but capped in MNQ. Hypothetical Result for Illustration Purpose Only: • Market prices: MNQ and XAK were quoted 1,786.60 and 15,555 respectively on July 21st. On August 18th, they were settled on 1,665.20 and 14,744, respectively. • Trade setup: 1 XAK - 6 MNQ = (1 * 1786.6 * 100) - (6 * 15555 * 2) = 8,000 • Initial margins: 9500 + 1680 * 6 = $19,580 • New Spread value = (1 * 1665.2 * 100) - (6 * 14744 * 2) = 10,408 • Gain (Loss):10,408 – 8,000 = $2,408; • Return: Using the $19,580 margin as cost base, this trade would have a return of 12%. Where are we now? As expected, XAK held up better than MNQ even though both were trending down. August 7th: What Disinflation: Beef Price Went Up 64% in 5 Years Trade Idea: Short Cattle-Hog Spread – Sell Live Cattle ( NASDAQ:LE ) and Buy Lean Hog ( NYSE:HE ) My theory: • In my opinion, the cost factor pushing pork prices up in the short run is greater than the supply-demand force that drives up beef prices in the long run. • There may be room to short the cattle-hog spread, until pork prices stabilize in a new equilibrium. Hypothetical Result for Illustration Purpose Only: • Market prices: LE and HE were quoted 183.10 and 83.25 respectively on August 4th. The cattle-hog spread was 99.85; On August 18th, the new spread was 96.41 (LE 178.53 vs. HE 82.13) • Gain (Loss): The cattle-hog spread was narrowed by 3.44. Since we short the spread, we would gain $1,378 (=3.44 x 400); • Return: Using the $3,200 margin as cost base, this trade would have a return of 43%. Where are we now? Cattle futures were down 2.5% while hog lost 1.4%, which helped narrow the spread. August 14th: CNH – Hedging Currency Risks Trade Idea: Long USD/Offshore RMB Futures ( FWB:CNH ) My theory: • The key drivers in the US/China currency exchange rate: relative interest rates; relative stock market performance; relative economic strength; and the dynamics of the US-China relations. • Yuan could break out of the recent range with USDCNH going above 7.50, if there are more headwinds ahead Hypothetical Result for Illustration Purpose Only: • Market prices: September contract (CNHU3) was quoted 7.2646 on August 11th and 7.2921 on August 18th, an increase of 275 points; • Gain (Loss): Each point is worth 10 yuan. The gain would be 2750 yuan, or $377 at current market price; • Return: Using the $21,100 margin as cost base, this trade would have a return of 1.8%. Where are we now? • Since I published this idea a week ago, the CNH exchange rate broke critical support levels of 7.27, 7.28, 7.29 and 7.30 sequentially; • In my opinion, the government would prioritize stabilizing the economy and monetary easing policies over the task of defending its currency; • A weaker Yuan may be even preferable as a policy tool to support China’s export. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CBOT_MINI:30Y1!Long
by JimHuangChicago
3
30Y: Housing Cost Jumps Amid Falling Headline InflationCBOT: 30-Year Micro Yield Futures ( CBOT_MINI:30Y1! ), Treasury Bond Futures ( CBOT:ZB1! ) As a result of runaway inflation and rising interest rates, US home buyers are confronted by high home prices, high down payments, and high monthly mortgage payments. A sneak peek into official housing market data between 2021 and 2023: • Median sales price of houses sold in the US ( FRED:MSPUS ) was $436,800 in the first quarter of 2023, per Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED); • The median home price was $433,100 in Q1 2022 and $369,800 in Q1 2021. In the span of merely two years, home price jumped 18.1%; • Thirty-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.81% on July 6th ( FRED:MORTGAGE30US ); • The same mortgage was quoted at 5.30% a year ago and only 2.90% in July 2021. A typical family of four living in the State of Illinois earned a median income of $113,649 in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s survey data. The example cited below illustrates the dramatic rise in housing cost from a family perspective: • If a 30-year-fixed mortgage is taken with a 20% down payment, the upfront cost is $87,360 (20% of FRED:MSPUS at $436,800), which is up $13,400 or 18.1% from two years ago; • Assuming the family’s take-home pay is 75% of gross income, their after-tax income would be $85,237 per year, or $7,103 per month; • Down payment already exceeded annual income. Adding in closing fees, moving cost, appliances and new furniture, upfront home investment could be well over $100K; • Using a mortgage calculator, we find that monthly mortgage payments were $1,724 if the home was bought two years ago; this equates to 24.3% of take-home pay; • New monthly payments would be $2,682, up sharply by 55.6%; mortgage expense now takes up 40.3% of the family’s after-tax income! This shows that an average US family these days can’t afford a median-price new home. A Tale of Two Cities The sharp increase in housing cost flies in the face of official US inflation data. June CPI report will be released on Wednesday. Economists forecast headline inflation to fall to 3.0% from 4.0% and core CPI to be lowered to 5.0% from 5.3% in May. The subset of inflation data shows Shelter cost growing at 8.0% annual rate in May. This doubles the headline CPI but is still a vast understatement for the soaring housing cost. So, where is the disconnection? Here is my theory. High mortgage rates have a bigger impact on mortgage payments than home price appreciation. Based on my calculation, each 1% increase in interest rate would translate into 9% more in monthly mortgage payments. In our example, mortgage rate grew about 4% from 2021 to 2023, and a mortgage is taken on a home priced at 18% higher. The resulting monthly payments jumped 55.6%. The compounding effect of higher prices and higher rates is fatal. I do not foresee either dropping in a meaningful way by next year. Therefore, do not expect the lower inflation to provide immediate relief to home buyers. Housing Market is not likely to crash US new home sales ( ECONOMICS:USNHS ) peaked at 1 million units in October 2021. Since then, it has nosedived and almost cut in half to 550K units by September 2022. Existing home sales ( ECONOMICS:USEHS ) followed a similar trend. It topped out at 6.6 million units in August 2020, and dropped to 4.0 million units in January 2023. Despite the hurdles facing home buyers, the US housing market appears to have recovered. New home sales reached 763K units in May, up nearly 12% from April. Existing home sales were 4.3 million units, up 300K from the beginning of the year. How could the housing market hold up? Isn’t homeownership already beyond reach? According to the National Association of Realtors, 65.5% of US families are homeowners. We could say that those with a “lock-in” rate are insulated from rising housing costs. Homeowners are “trapped” in their home in a rising interest rate environment. If they sell their houses and buy new ones, they will forfeit their 3% mortgage. This explains why existing home sales recovers at a much slower pace than new home sales. Low inventory and fewer sellers relative to buyers, together keep the housing market going strong. Prospective home buyers are not so lucky. But they have options. First is to lower their expectation and buy a smaller home; Second is to downgrade from single family home to townhouse or condominium. Finally, postpone home purchases and continue to rent. Several Economists predicting a housing market crash as big as the 2008 Subprime crisis. I think the Big Shorts would be disappointed this time. Prior to 2008, up to one third of homeowners had adjustable-rate mortgages. They survived rate-reset only because their house value went up. When it didn’t, they couldn’t refinance and defaulted on their loan. These days, adjustable-rate accounts for just 5% of all mortgages. The housing market is healthier now. FRED data shows the mortgage delinquency rate at 1.73% in Q1 2023, and the rate has been declining consistently for seven quarters. How Is This Relevant for Trading? I hold the view that the US housing market is very resilient. As long as the job market does not deteriorate, it could weather significant challenges including higher interest rates, indicating that the demand for home mortgages would stay strong. Whether you buy a new home or an existing one, a single-family home, a townhouse, a condo, or a trailer home, chances are you need a mortgage. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage is the most popular type of home loans in the US. Hence, this is where we should find solutions to manage interest rate risk. Interest rate data shows that the 30-year fixed rate is not closely correlated to the Fed’s interest rate decisions. In the past 12 months, the Fed Funds rate gained 130%, while the 30-year Fixed only moved up 28%. Since last November, the Fed raised interest rates five times, but the 30-year Fixed stayed relatively unchanged. My theory is that the decline in home sales countered the effect of rising funding cost, putting the mortgage rates in sideway moves. Now that the housing market recovers, 30-year Fixed could be on the way up. The July FOMC meeting could provide a boost if the Fed raises 25 bp as the market predicts. There is no liquid financial instrument on the 30-year fixed rate mortgage. However, it is closely correlated to the 30-year Treasury yield. The mortgage rate currently is priced at 2.8% above the Treasury yield. The spread appears to be stable over time. If we are bullish on the 30-year fixed mortgage rate, we could consider the following: One, to set up a short position on CBOT Treasury Bond Futures ( $ZB ). Remember that bond price and yield are inversely related. Rising yield would cause the bond to lose value. Each Treasury Bond futures contract has a face value of $100,000. The price quotation is based on $100 par value. The minimum tick is 1/32 of one point (0.03125), or 1,000/32 = $31.25. SEP contract (ZBU3) is quoted $123 and 22/32 on Monday July 10th. Two, to set up a long position on CBOT 30-Year Micro Yield Futures ( $30Y ). On July 10th, the August contract is quoted 4.029%. Each 30Y contract has a notional value of interest rate times 1000 index points. A move by a minimum tick of 0.001 index point would result in a gain or loss of $1 per contract. What’s the difference between these two? Treasury bond futures are very liquid. It traded 387,170 contracts and had an Open Interest of 1.25 million on July 7th. Micro Yield Futures are more intuitive. If yield goes up, futures price goes up too. The contract is catered to individual investors. Its margin requirement is $290, compared to $4,200 for the bond futures. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
CBOT_MINI:30Y1!Long
by JimHuangChicago
NFP: Jobs cool off but is Inflation knocking on the Fed's door? Long story short: it's a video, watch it! BTC LONG USD SHORT Learn why in this video. NFP: Jobs are ok, still good new jobs in the basket but less than previous month (cool off). AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS: Nobody talks about this but it means wages are rising, labor is going higher, services and products might become more expensive on expensive labor = INFLATION FEDS DUAL PURPOSE: To create jobs and to control prices (stability through monetary and other policies). Will the FEDS hike again? I think yes, they will but i also think that NOBODY CARES MUCH!! We almost done with rate hikes but are we done with systemic risks? Are banks ok now that real estate is not favored? I will finish the same way this started: BTC LONG USD SHORT One Love, The FXPROFESSOR
BITFINEX:BTCUSD
by FX_Professor
9
WTI: Crude Oil May Have Bottomed OutNYMEX: WTI Crude Oil ( NYMEX:CL1! ), Micro Crude Oil ( NYMEX:MCL1! ) The talk of inflation deceleration created a wishful misperception. Does a CPI read from 9.1% to 4.0% mean price relief for consumer? Certainly not. Something costed $1 last year will go up to $1.04 this year on average. What really comes down is the rate and the pace of price increase, but the absolute price level has forever gone up. This makes the real decline in energy prices more extraordinary: • On June 23rd, WTI crude oil ( NYSE:CL ) August futures settled at $69.16 a barrel. This is 44% below last June’s high of $123.70; • At $2.44 a gallon, RBOB gasoline futures ( SIX:RB ) declined 34% year-over-year; • At $2.37 a gallon, ULSD diesel futures ( EURONEXT:HO ) price dropped 45% YoY. • At the retail level, the American Automobile Association reports the national average regular gasoline price at $3.57 a gallon on June 25th, down 27% YoY; • The AAA diesel price is now $3.89/gallon, falling 33% YoY. However, the era of low energy prices may be coming to an end. I am convinced that the market dynamic has changed. Elevated geopolitical tension, higher demand and a weak dollar could help pull crude oil out of the bottom, and onto an upward trajectory. Global Tension Forms Solid Price Support A week after the start of Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Crude oil futures shot up 30% from below $90 to $115. WTI peaked at $121 in June as the fighting continued. Since then, high inflation and rate hikes raised the risk of global recession. As the demand outlook dimmed, oil price lost support and trended down in the past year. Geopolitical tension may have been placed on the back burner, but it never went away. Last Saturday, the Russian private army Wagner Group mounted a short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin. What this means to the Ukraine conflict and the stability of Russia itself remain to be seen. Geopolitical crisis could cause supply shock and raise the price of crude oil. My observation is that global tension will be at an elevated level throughout 2023 and 2024. Oil Demand is Expected to Recover Last July, I called the peak of gas price in this report. I discovered that record $5 gas had caused demand to fumble. AAA gas price surprisingly declined at the start of the traditional summer driving season. Things look different now. Retail gas price creeped up 50 cents (+13%) since December. Many stations popped up gas price ahead of the July 4th holiday. With a still strong job market and inflation in check, consumers are taking their summer vacations. A second key demand factor comes from the US government. The Biden Administration has drawn down the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to fight high oil price in the last two years. The Energy Information Agency data shows that the SPR holds 350 million barrels of crude oil as of June 16th. This is 285 million barrels less than the level on January 24th, 2020, the week when President Biden first took office. SPR is now at a critical four-decade low level. The Department of Energy has begun replenishing the SPR. It announced buying up to 3 million barrels in May, and recently planned additional purchase of 6 million in August. Thirdly, the risk of global economic recession is now lower than what we previously feared. This is my most important reason for raising the outlook of future oil demand. • The Federal Reserve implemented ten consecutive interest rate increases since March 2022. US inflation rate has declined from the peak of 9.1% to 4.0% in May. Lowering inflation may have averted the US economy from falling on a hard landing. • The banking failures, from Silicon Valley Bank to Signature Bank, First Republic, and Credit Suisse, have met with swift government rescue efforts. We have so far managed to contain these from spreading to systemic risk. • The resolution of US debt ceiling crisis helped avoid a US default and a likely global financial crisis it may trigger. According to the USDebtClock.org, the US national debt is now $32.1 trillion, which is $700 billion more than the previous debt limit. • The Biden-McCarthy deal in federal spending limits ensures that government budget will not be cut. The federal government accounts for one quarter of the US economy. As bad as it may sound, government spending spree with borrowed money does contribute to near-term economic growth. We just kick the can forward and leave the debt burden to future generations. A Weak Dollar Supports Higher Oil Price Last year, the main investment theme of global commodities market was “Strong Dollar, Weak Commodities” and “High Rate, Low Price”. We are now in a reverse course. The US dollar index peaked at 114 in last September. While the Fed raised rates aggressively, other countries were slow in response, resulting in widening interest rate spreads between the US dollar and major foreign currencies. Since then, the Fed reduced the size of rate hikes from 75 bp to 50 and then 25, while UK and ECB caught up with bigger rate increases. The dollar index has fallen to 100 by April. The Fed paused rate increase in its June meeting. Although it emphasizes in fighting inflation, there is no question that the monetary tightening cycle is now in its last stretch. NYMEX WTI Crude Oil Futures With the key factors discussed above, plus the OPEC having incentive to cut output, I could see WTI going back to the $80-$90 range. December WTI (CLZ3) currently quotes $69.1 a barrel. Each contract has a notional value of 1,000 barrels. Margin requirement is $5,000 to place one contract. Hypothetically, if Dec futures goes up to $80, one long contract would gain $10,900 (=10.9*1000). Theoretical return would be +118% (=10,900/5,000-1), excluding transaction fees. The risk of long WTI is falling oil price. If CLZ3 falls to $65, a long position would lose $4,100. This would result in a Margin Call, with the Exchange requiring the trader to deposit fund and bring the account balance back to $5,000. Alternatively, we could consider the Micro Crude Oil Futures ( CSE:MCL ). Contract size is one tenth of the standard CL contract. And so is the margin requirement. Everything else works the same. Happy Trading. Disclaimers *Trade ideas cited above are for illustration only, as an integral part of a case study to demonstrate the fundamental concepts in risk management under the market scenarios being discussed. They shall not be construed as investment recommendations or advice. Nor are they used to promote any specific products, or services. CME Real-time Market Data help identify trading set-ups and express my market views. If you have futures in your trading portfolio, you can check out on CME Group data plans available that suit your trading needs www.tradingview.com
Editors' picks
NYMEX:CL1!Long
by JimHuangChicago
22
Charts Show Market Expects Fed to Pause but Big Resistance AheadTraders, Over 90% of the market is currently pricing in a FED rate pause tomorrow, but beware, the market often moves towards the point of maximum pain. My charts are showing we are at a critical point of resistance as I type this post. The bulls are going to have to conquer 4,370 and confirm it on the daily to convince me that the they are not out of steam just yet. From my perspective and the way I am reading this chart, is that the market may be in for a bit of a surprise pullback here. The blow-off top that I predicted well over a year ago is still currently underway and, IMO, will continue. But the market never goes to any future price point in a straight line. We are due for a pullback. I am not saying this will occur. I am only suggesting that a bit of caution is still very much warranted for the remainder of this week. Here's a look at a schedule of significant events that have or will yet occur and may cause volatility: Tuesday: • US CPI Data • Hinman Docs Become Public • SEC's Coinbase Rulemaking Response • Binance US Hearing Wednesday: • US PPI Data • FOMC Meeting Thursday: • US Jobless Claims • US Retail Sales Data Take care, Stew
U
by stewdamus
5
Global Economy RecapGood day traders. International news recap. This recap has a high probability of influencing the international economic trends for the next six months. First, let us look at the trade balance of Mainland China, which stands at 452.3 billion yuan, compared to the previous value of 618.4 billion yuan (decreased by 26%). Furthermore, the trade balance in terms of the US dollar is 65.8 billion dollars, compared to the previous value of 90.2 billion dollars (decreased by 27%). From this, we can see a weakening in Mainland China's trade volume by a quarter. It's a big decline! Moving on to the United States, the trade balance for April is negative 74.6 billion dollars, compared to the previous value of negative 64.2 billion dollars. Declined by 16%! This indicates a weakening in US trade as well. I sense signs of an economic recession. However, Mainland China is quick to act. Today, they have lowered the deposit interest rates by 10-15 basis points, injecting liquidity into the market to stimulate the economy. Today is the 9th, and next week we should pay attention to the US CPI data (inflation data), as well as Wednesday's interest rate decision. According to CME's assessment of the probability of the Federal Reserve not raising interest rates on the 14th June stands at 78%. Conclusion: If next Tuesday's CPI data meets expectations or is lower than expected, coupled with no interest rate hike at 2PM on Wednesday, then gold, stock markets, and the cryptocurrency market will experience a short-term increase. However, in the medium to long term, we should be mentally prepared. The yield spread between the 10-year and 2-year Treasury bonds has reached 0.775%. Both Mainland China and the United States are experiencing a decrease in their trade balances, indicating signs of economic weakness. Recession MAY happen. For reference.
FOREXCOM:XAUUSD
by INFINITY8CADEMY
Is AUDNZD due for a reversal?AUDNZD as shown on the 15- minute chart is rising after the Australian central bank raised its prime rate in keeping up with another global tightening. Since May 24th AUDNZD has risen 4% in various legs with some consolidation but no downturns. ADUNZD may be due for a correction. IT is shown here on the 15-minute chart along with the "Alpha Trend" indicator, the zero lag MACD indicator and the visible range volume profile. AUDNZD is above the POC line showing bullish buying pressure to have pushed it higher. However, on the MACD, the K/ D lines are setting up a cross over the histogram which typically is a sell signal. AUDNZED may hae had a decent trend up but could now be getting ready for a "reversion to the mean" Because of this I will watch AUDNZD as a candidate for a short trade perhaps with a retracement of 2% ( 1/2 of the trend up) over a period of several days.
Short
by AwesomeAvani