Quotes disappear before the number

[Fairman]

Quotes disappear before the number

About half a minute before a scheduled major release, liquidity providers start reducing their size or stop quoting altogether. This is not rumour; it is a standard risk practice for market makers.

The visible effect on a retail platform is a widening spread and a falling tick rate. Sometimes the quote freezes entirely for several seconds. Orders sent in this window may be rejected or sit unfilled.

A scalper in a position when this starts gets an unwelcome surprise. The stop loss is still active, but the market is shaking and the fill will be poor. There is nothing to do but accept it.

For traders flat going into the release, the same phenomenon makes it hard to enter even if the signal is clear. Order flow is erratic.

Things to know:

- The disappearance happens before the release, not at it
- The quote returns gradually, not in one go
- Spreads at the 30-second mark are often a better warning sign than the clock

Flattening positions a few minutes before scheduled events is usually the cheapest approach, even though it feels like missing out.

What does the spread do in the minute leading up to a release on the pairs being traded?