ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 7.31.2013

 FOMC Statement  Comments Off on ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 7.31.2013
Dec 272013
 

ZB 09-13 (1 Min)  7_31_2013

7/31/2013 FOMC Statement / FED Funds Rate (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
TRAP TRADE (UPWARD FAN)
Started @ 133’03 (1400)
————
Trap Trade:
)))1st Peak @ 133’11 – 1400:19 (1 min)
)))8 ticks

)))Reversal to 133’03 – 1401:25 (2 min)
)))-8 ticks

)))2nd Peak @ 133’16 – 1403:20 (4 min)
)))13 ticks

)))Reversal to 133’03 – 1407:03 (8 min)
)))-13 ticks
————
Final Peak @ 134’13 – 1531 (91 min)
42 ticks

Reversal to 134’06 – 1545 (105 min)
7 ticks

Notes: Report released on time, as the FED chose to continue the existing open ended QE3 policy despite seeing certain indications of improving economic conditions, but reiterated previous comments about tapering off the bond buying later in the year. This caused an initial long move that nearly reached the S2 Pivot for 8 ticks, then a return to the origin. It repeated the cycle before developing into an upward fan for the long term reaction. A Trap Trade with 6-8 ticks offset would use the S3 Mid Pivot at 133’02 as the anchor point, then go with 133’08 – 133’10 for the short entry and 132’28 – 132’26 for the long entry. The initial burst long would have filled the short entry easily, then see the reversal give at least 4 ticks if you targeted the 100 SMA. Later opportunities to buy low and sell high were available, as it achieved a 2nd peak, then fell to the origin one more time. Then it rode the 13/20 SMAs for nearly an hour and a half as it eclipsed the R1 Pivot for 42 ticks. Then we saw a reversal of 7 ticks in the next 14 min.

ZB 12-13 (1 Min) 11.20.2013

 FOMC Meeting Minutes  Comments Off on ZB 12-13 (1 Min) 11.20.2013
Dec 262013
 

ZB 12-13 (1 Min)  11_20_2013

11/20/2013 FOMC Meeting Minutes (1400 EST)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
Previous Revision: n/a
SPIKE WITH 2ND PEAK
Started @ 131’24
1st Peak @ 131’14 – 1401 (1 min)
10 ticks

Reversal to 131’26 – 1404 (4 min)
12 ticks

2nd Peak @ 131’09 – 1412 (12 min)
15 ticks

Reversal to 131’21 – 1420 (20 min)
12 ticks

Final Peak @ 130’28 – 1526 (86 min)
28 ticks

Reversal to 131’04 – 1601 (121 min)
8 ticks

Notes: Same song, different dance…the FED kept things vague and noncommittal announcing the intention to scale back bond buying in “the coming months” with no timeline or other specifics. This caused the bonds to fall 10 ticks, as it was already engaged in a longer term downtrend. With JOBB you would have filled short at 131’21 or 20 with 1 tick of slippage. As is typical with this report it likes to test a spike then rebound a few sec later. In this case it fell 10 ticks and hovered there for about 10 sec midway through the :31 bar. Then it reversed and gave it up as the bar expired. Be sure to exit before the reversal takes over in the latter half of the bar. After the :31 bar, it continued reversing to hit the 100 SMA, before stepping lower to a final peak of 28 ticks nearly an hour and a half after the news. Then it traded sideways into the close.

ZB 12-13 (1 Min) 10.9.2013

 FOMC Meeting Minutes  Comments Off on ZB 12-13 (1 Min) 10.9.2013
Dec 262013
 

ZB 12-13 (1 Min)  10_9_2013

10/9/2013 FOMC Meeting Minutes (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
Previous Revision: n/a
SPIKE / REVERSE
Started @ 132’30
1st Peak @ 132’25 – 1401 (1 min)
5 ticks

Reversal to 133’09 – 1442 (42 min)
16 ticks

Notes: As the FED kept things vague and noncommittal announcing the intention to scale back bond buying with no timeline or other specifics, the markets reacted with a sigh. This caused the bonds to fall only 5 ticks, as it was already trading near the session low. With JOBB you would have filled short at 132’27 or 28 with no slippage. After observing the minimal movement and the apparent interaction with support barriers, look to exit at breakeven or 1 tick of profit. Fortunately, it allowed for an exit for 3 min, before it reversed 16 ticks, crossing all 3 major SMAs and the S1 Mid Pivot in the next 40 min. After that it fell again to trade near the S1 Pivot until the market close.

CL 01-14 (1 Min) 12.4.2013

 Beige Book  Comments Off on CL 01-14 (1 Min) 12.4.2013
Dec 202013
 

CL 01-14 (1 Min)  12_4_2013

12/4/2013 FED Beige Book (1400 EST)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
DULL REACTION
Started @ 97.29
1st Peak @ 97.37 – 1402 (2 min)
8 ticks

Reversal to 97.12 – 1404 (4 min)
25 ticks

Notes: The Federal Reserve said today that economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace during the reporting period of early October through mid November. Eight Districts reported moderate growth rates in economic activity as during the previous reporting period, while modest growth was reported in the Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, and Kansas City Districts. The DX had minimal movement, and mostly chopped sideways. This resulted in a 8 tick dull long reaction in 2 bars that crossed the 50/100 SMAs. With JOBB, it would not have triggered the long entry on your bracket until late in the :32 bar, then backed off due to the SMAs. In this case with the muted move and SMA location, place your stop at about 97.29 and wait for it to potentially go further long. You would have been stopped with a 5 tick loss, but averted a larger loss and been safe due to the typical pattern of this report to slowly achieve a peak over several bars. The reversal garnered 25ticks to nearly reach the 200 SMA 2 min later. After that it rallied for a double top 20 min later, then strongly reversed again.

CL 11-13 (1 Min) 10.16.2013

 Beige Book  Comments Off on CL 11-13 (1 Min) 10.16.2013
Nov 292013
 

CL 11-13 (1 Min)  10_16_2013

10/16/2013 FED Beige Book (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
SPIKE / REVERSE
Started @ 102.50
1st Peak @ 102.75 – 1403 (3 min)
25 ticks

Reversal to 102.18 – 1429 (29 min)
57 ticks

Notes: The Federal Reserve said today that economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace during the reporting period of September through early October. Eight Districts reported similar growth rates in economic activity as during the previous reporting period, while growth slowed some in the Philadelphia, Richmond, Chicago, and Kansas City Districts. The DX had minimal movement, but did rally after 1405 to aid in the reversal. This resulted in a 25 tick long move in 3 bars that crossed the 50 SMA and the R2 Pivot. With JOBB, it would not have triggered the long entry on your bracket until about 30 sec into the :31 bar, but this is normal. You would have filled at 102.56 with 1 tick of slippage, then look for the 50 SMA as a target at about 102.68 for 12 ticks. After the peak, it rode the 50 SMA to gain 2 more ticks in the next 10 min. Then it reversed for 57 ticks in the next 26 min, crossing the 100/200 SMAs and the R2 Mid Pivot. After that it traded sideways using the R2 Mid Pivot as support.

CL 10-13 (1 Min) 9.4.2013

 Beige Book  Comments Off on CL 10-13 (1 Min) 9.4.2013
Oct 152013
 

CL 10-13 (1 Min)  9_4_2013

9/4/2013 FED Beige Book (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
SPIKE WITH 2ND PEAK
Started @ 107.07
1st Peak @ 106.86 – 1402 (2 min)
21 ticks

Reversal to 107.14 – 1407 (7 min)
28 ticks

2nd Peak @ 106.84 – 1422 (22 min)
23 ticks

Reversal to 107.27 – 1429 (29 min)
43 ticks

Notes: The Federal Reserve said today that economic activity continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace during the reporting period of early July through late August. Eight Districts characterized growth as moderate; of the remaining four, Boston, Atlanta, and San Francisco reported modest growth, and Chicago indicated activity had improved. The DX fell modestly and slowly after 1400. This resulted in a 21 tick short move in 3 bars that eclipsed the S2 Mid Pivot followed by a 28 tick reversal in the next 4 min back to the 50 SMA. With JOBB, it would not have triggered the short entry on your bracket until about 30 sec into the :31 bar, but this is normal. You would have filled at 107.02 with no slippage, then look for the S2 Mid Pivot for 14 ticks. It was able to achieve a mild 2nd peak of 2 more ticks, eclipsing the S2 Mid Pivot again 15 min after the revesal, then it reversed for 43 ticks in the next 7 min as the pit closed.

ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 8.21.2013

 FOMC Meeting Minutes  Comments Off on ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 8.21.2013
Oct 082013
 

ZB 09-13 (1 Min)  8_21_2013

8/21/2013 FOMC Meeting Minutes (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
Previous Revision: n/a
SPIKE WITH 2ND PEAK
Started @ 131’12
1st Peak @ 130’27 – 1401 (1 min)
17 ticks

Reversal to 131’02 – 1402 (2 min)
8 ticks

2nd Peak @ 130’13 – 1406 (6 min)
31 ticks

Reversal to 131’01 – 1413 (13 min)
20 ticks

Notes: Very little of substance was offered by the FED to decipher the stance on tapering the bond buying. Still the lack of anything actionable against it caused the bonds to plummet. This caused the bonds to fall 17 ticks, then chop between 131’09 and 130’27 for the majority of the :01 bar. It eventually settled down to drift lower and reach a 2nd peak of 31 ticks at the S3 Mid Pivot after 6 min. With JOBB you would have filled short at 131’09 with no slippage. After observing the hovering up to 15 sec at 130’30, that would have been an ideal place to exit for about 10 ticks before the volatile swings happened. If you did not exit, there would have been plenty of opportunity later for an exit between breakeven and up to 27 ticks. After the 2nd peak it reversed for 20 ticks back to the 200 SMA, then fell again, tested the 200 SMA one more time and drifted lower into the session close.

ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 07.17.2013

 Beige Book  Comments Off on ZB 09-13 (1 Min) 07.17.2013
Aug 092013
 

ZB 09-13 (1 Min)  7_17_2013

7/17/2013 FED Beige Book (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
DULL REACTION…NO FILL
Started @ 135’11
1st Peak @ 135’07 – 1402 (2 min)
4 ticks

Reversal to 135’19 – 1451 (51 min)
12 ticks

Notes: The Federal Reserve said today that economic activity maintained a modest to moderate pace since the previous report across most Federal Reserve districts, bolstered by industries from housing to manufacturing. The DX was fairly flat until 1430 when it rallied mildly. This resulted in an initial dull 4 tick short move followed by a 12 tick reversal in the next 49 min. With JOBB, it would not have triggered the short entry on your bracket until about 45 sec into the :31 bar, so this would be reason to cancel the order. If you did not cancel and were waiting on a delayed reaction, move the stop loss in to -1 or -2 ticks, which would have been taken out on the next few bars. The initial spike found support on the R1 Pivot and the reversal crossed all 3 major SMAs and the R2 Pivot.

CL 07-13 (1 Min) 06.05.2013

 Beige Book  Comments Off on CL 07-13 (1 Min) 06.05.2013
Aug 092013
 

CL 07-13 (1 Min)  6_5_2013

6/5/2013 FED Beige Book (1400 EDT)
Forecast: n/a
Actual: n/a
DULL REACTION
Started @ 93.97
1st Peak @ 94.05 – 1401 (1 min)
8 ticks

Reversal to 83.90 – 1403 (3 min)
15 ticks

2nd Peak @ 94.18 – 1410 (10 min)
21 ticks

Reversal to 93.58 – 1426 (26 min)
60 ticks

Notes: The Federal Reserve said today that economic activity increased at a modest to moderate pace since the previous report across all Federal Reserve Districts except the Dallas District, which reported strong economic growth. The manufacturing sector expanded in most Districts since the previous Beige Book. Most districts noted slight to moderate gains in consumer spending. The DX was fairly flat until 1415 when it rallied mildly. This resulted in initial tame indecision, followed by a long move, then a short move corresponding to the rally on the DX. With JOBB, you would have filled long at 94.04 with 2 ticks of slippage, then seen it back off. Given that the move is often slow and takes several bars, I waited it out and left the stop loss at the 200 SMA as a good area of support and took a 10 tick loss. A 15 tick stop loss would have ridden out the heat and given you a handful of ticks 5-10 min later as it hit its 2nd peak. Then the reversal yielded 60 ticks in about 15 min.