Just taking a look at this contract for the first time thanks to this interesting thread. Does anyone use IB to trade the Eurodollar? When I pull up say GE Sep 05 on TWS, I don't see any bid/ask data. I'm used to the minis, so it just doesn't look right to me. Do you use time and sales, depth of market or volume in your trading? Also, do you trade pit hours only?
while I don't use IB, I can answer some of your other questions no I don't use time and sales, though some guys I trade with do have it up...with ED you generally have a good idea about what size is going through at what price if you're paying any attention... the platform I use gives me all the depth of market possible and it is relatively useful...obviously volume is quite important and I do use it in combination with price and time... I generally trade from about 8am to sometimes as late as 4:30pm...ED shuts at 5pm and re-opens at 6pm if I'm not mistaken...but really after the pit shuts at 3pm the contract becomes almost untradeable around 3:30pm...PM me if you want any more info...
Quotes should be fine. The market is closed between 4pm-5pm Chicago time. Note that you can also trade Eurodollars on LIFFE, symbol is ED in the TWS. You should be able to get the top 5 levels of market depth on Globex (GE). On LIFFE (ED) I believe it's 10 levels (it's closed at the moment so I can't verify).
Is anybody trading Eurodollar flys. and if so what has been your experience with this strategy. i.e no of tics for profit, avg time for trade to become profitable. Do you normally trade the flys anchored to the front months or middle months. Can you give example. excuse my ignorance just trying to pick up a few pointers b/4 I dabble.
I've created a thread under Journals to discuss the case of betting on higher interest rates http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=43628 and would like to invite people to share their views on the subject.
I've been trading ED flies for the last 6 years. Out of Singapore. It was great, and I used to leg in and out by trading the outrights with a day view. Then Globex and Liffe came along and basically destroyed our little pit in SGX. Most of us have had to adapt to trading ED electronically. Competition is tougher now and spreads are much tighter. Even with reduced commissions, its tough to scalp ED butterflies anymore. Still trade them but have extended my time horizon to weeks possibly a month in holding a typical position.
Great info. Thanks. I've been thinking about putting on this trade for a while. Buying the spread. The Z05H06 looks like it's close to a bottom. There doesn't seem to be much upside left to the flattening trade, 2-10yr that is. Its been holding its support at 11.0 pts for a while.
are there any seasonal reasons for the trade? i take it the profit horizon is longer term (weeks)? a lot of people like the 3 month spreads - but i prefer 9-15+ months. horses 4 courses. i guess risk is more controlled on a 3 month so u can do bigger size?????
Thanks. Which time period do u trade, 3m, 9m, 12m, found the 3m basically with no volatility. Now looking at the 12mth flys. EDH5/EDU5/EDH6, currently trading at the top of its range. How do u determine it normal value, I think it might fall, but this I determine from the charts, no real fundamental reason. It could drop to 10 or 15 ticks, just a guess.