A short list of things the chart cannot show
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2026 12:19 pm
Charts get all the attention, but plenty of price movement is driven by things that never appear on them.
1. Option expiries. Large strikes with expiry at 10am New York can pin price near a level for hours, then release it.
2. Central bank speakers. A single sentence from a policymaker can move a pair 30 pips with no technical warning.
3. Month-end rebalancing. Funds adjusting currency hedges push flows that ignore support and resistance.
4. Bank holidays. When one major centre is closed, liquidity drops and moves exaggerate.
5. Barrier levels. Banks defend or attack these quietly, producing odd spikes.
None of this needs to be traded directly. Simply knowing the calendar of these events prevents the classic mistake of blaming a setup for a loss caused by an outside force.
A weekly 10 minute routine of scanning for expiries, holidays and speakers saves more than another indicator ever could.
Which of these has caught people here off guard the most?
1. Option expiries. Large strikes with expiry at 10am New York can pin price near a level for hours, then release it.
2. Central bank speakers. A single sentence from a policymaker can move a pair 30 pips with no technical warning.
3. Month-end rebalancing. Funds adjusting currency hedges push flows that ignore support and resistance.
4. Bank holidays. When one major centre is closed, liquidity drops and moves exaggerate.
5. Barrier levels. Banks defend or attack these quietly, producing odd spikes.
None of this needs to be traded directly. Simply knowing the calendar of these events prevents the classic mistake of blaming a setup for a loss caused by an outside force.
A weekly 10 minute routine of scanning for expiries, holidays and speakers saves more than another indicator ever could.
Which of these has caught people here off guard the most?