Thank you for visiting the Forex Academy FX Options market combined volume expiries section. Each day, where available, we will bring you notable maturities in FX Options of amounts of $100 million-plus, and where these large combined maturities at specified currency exchange rates often have a magnetic effect on price action, especially in the hours leading to their maturities, which happens daily at 10.00 AM Eastern time. This is because the big institutional players hedge their positions accordingly. Each option expiry should be considered ‘in-play’ with a good chance of a strike if labelled in red, still in play and a possible strike if labelled in orange and ‘out of play’ and an unlikely strike if labelled in blue, with regard to the likelihood of price action meeting the strike price at maturity.
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FX option expiries for Monday October 19 at the 10am NY cut
EUR/USD (euro amount)
- 1.1600 767m
- 1.1620 566m
- 1.1650 1.0bn
- 1.1700 548m
- 1.1775 812m
- 1.1800 1.0bn
- 1.1850 659m
EURUSD is stuck in a consolidation range between 1.17 and 1.1750. Ms Legarde speaks later and will no doubt help to push the pair out of this consolidation phase.
USD/JPY (USD amount)
- 105.00 557m
- 106.00 1.1bn
USDJPY is in a possible double top formation with a return to the 105.00 major support line. A push through the resistance line would leave the door open for a run to the 106.00 level, which is in close proximity.
GBP/USD (GBP amount)
- 1.2800 216m
GBPUSD is in an ascending wedge shape and it appears that while there is the hope of a Brexit trade deal there is a bid tone for the pound.
NZD/USD (NZD amount)
0.6575 230m
NZDUSD is in a bull channel leaving the option out of play.
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As you can see on the preferred 1-hour chart(s), we have also plotted the expiration levels at the various exchange rate maturities and we have also labelled in red, orange and blue. Therefore, if you see option expiry exchange rates labelled in red these should be considered in-play, because we believe there is a greater chance of the expiry maturing at these levels based on technical analysis at the time of writing. There is still a lesser possibility of a strike if they are in orange and so these are ‘in-play’ too. However, if we have labelled them in blue, they should be considered ‘not in-play’ and therefore price action would be unlikely to reach these levels, which are often referred to as Strikes, at the time of the 10 AM New York cut.
Our technical analysis is based on exchange rates which may be several hours earlier in the day and may not reflect price action at the time of the maturities. Also, we have not factored in economic data releases or keynote speeches by policymakers, or potential market volatility leading up to the cut.
Although we have added some technical analysis, we suggest you take the levels and plot them onto your own trading charts and incorporate the information into your own trading methodology in order to use the information to your advantage. Remember the higher the amount, the larger the gravitational pull towards the exchange rate maturity at 10:00 AM Eastern time.
If you want to learn how forex option expiries affect price action in the spot FX market see our educational article by clicking here: https://bit.ly/2VR2Nji
DISCLAIMER: Please note that this information is for educational purposes. Also, the maturities will look more or less likely to become a strike at 10 AM NY time due to exchange rate fluctuations resulting in a different perspective with regard to technical analysis, and also due to upcoming economic data releases for the associated pairs.