Spread trading newbie has questions.

Discussion in 'Commodity Futures' started by wartrace, Dec 31, 2020.

  1. bone

    bone

    Congratulations on your success !

    The Exchange uses an algorithm-based order matching engine to internally combine separate firm individual instrument component orders.

    The Comms and Fees are not a problem for myself and my clients in that we are holding the spread position as a swing or position trade - we are trading for chunks of trading range and not a couple tics.

     
    #41     Jul 7, 2021
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  2. traderjo

    traderjo

    Hi Bone thanks
    reg " internally combine separate firm individual instrument component orders." how though? are you saying the exchange fills the spread order by taking individual legs own books?
    If so then the same spread bid/ask is not visible if I have the two legs best BID/ASK showing side by side
    sometimes the spread's own BID/ASK is only 1 tick ( in this case 10 ticks to a point)
    but the BID/ASk diff in individual legs is much more
    Confusing ( not that I am complaining as I see good depth of market on the exchange spread.. just wanted to understand it better)
    If I understand it better then I was thinking of legging out of a filled spread! may be I know then I am drifting away from main strategy :(
     
    #42     Jul 7, 2021
  3. traderjo

    traderjo

    Example
    If Selling 1 AUG-SEP spread = you can get filled at -0.2 as Native spread
    However at same point if you look at the AUG and Sept legs best bid and ask
    Sell AUG will be 162.2
    Buy Sept will be 162.6
    Thus : Selling AUG-SEPT spread @-0.4 NOT -0.2
    So if the exchange somehow fills my spread at -0.2 from native book how does it convert that in to legs? who takes up the legs ? as all leg bid and and ask are NOT willing to give me a synthetic spread at same value as the Native spread!

    as a spread trader you don't care ( I am assuming) what the individual legs got filled at as long as you get a good Spread fill
    However this is a mystery

    upload_2021-7-8_10-7-33.png
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2021
    #43     Jul 7, 2021
  4. bone

    bone

    I use TT and I enable implied pricing for the individual leg instruments.

    You will almost always get a tighter bid/ask spread with much more volume liquidity in the spread as compared to the outrights. It's true for CME Eurodollars and it's true for ICE Brent Crude. Most of the volume in the spreads is Commercial and most of the volume in the prompt outright months is spec.

    The Commercials are serious and they don't play games with the order book. Personally - I would much rather trade with Commercials.

     
    #44     Jul 8, 2021
  5. traderjo

    traderjo

    I use TT and I enable implied pricing for the individual leg instruments.
    You mean the Doms of actual individual legs or some theoretical legs pricing which make up the Native exchange traded spread?
    I am still unclear on where the individual leg fills come from when one gets the spread filled ?
    If they come from native legs how come native legs DOM don;t add up to give same synthetic Spread as native spread?


    I use CGQ desktop and that screen shot I had posted had the native legs and native spread sid e by side not some derived legs
     
    #45     Jul 8, 2021
  6. traderjo

    traderjo

    Update :
    All spreads of this commodity are such that front month being cheaper than further month for most f the time historically
    and I was in Soled AUG/SEP position ( short AUG+ Long Sept), in this case Aug contract expires at end of July
    Few days ago due to shortage of supply AUG being current month rushed ahead of Sept and position become a loss and I closed out SOled @-0.4 and bought back @ +0.5

    But then again it did go down,,,,
    Should I have closed it ?

    So lesson learned?
    - don't trade a spread so close where front month is close to expiry but then again when I opened the position it was behaving
     
    #46     Jul 15, 2021