The 10am New York options cut is a daily bump
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2026 7:25 am
Large currency option expiries are set to a cut-off at 10 am New York time. When big strikes sit near the current spot price, the hedging flows around that time can pin price or push it away right before the cut.
Banks reporting large expiries at specific levels often mention them in morning notes, and watching for those strikes gives a rough map of where price might gravitate. Not every expiry has an effect, and most are too small to matter, but the big ones can clearly dampen volatility or cause sharp moves.
The pin effect shows up as price oscillating tightly around a level in the hour before the cut, then breaking free after 10 am. Scalpers can find it frustrating, since ranges narrow and breakouts fail, and then the move arrives just after the window closes.
Sources for expiry data are mixed. Some brokers publish them, and some data providers charge for detailed information. Even rough awareness of the biggest strikes is better than nothing.
Has option expiry information ever been used to adjust trading around the 10am cut?
Banks reporting large expiries at specific levels often mention them in morning notes, and watching for those strikes gives a rough map of where price might gravitate. Not every expiry has an effect, and most are too small to matter, but the big ones can clearly dampen volatility or cause sharp moves.
The pin effect shows up as price oscillating tightly around a level in the hour before the cut, then breaking free after 10 am. Scalpers can find it frustrating, since ranges narrow and breakouts fail, and then the move arrives just after the window closes.
Sources for expiry data are mixed. Some brokers publish them, and some data providers charge for detailed information. Even rough awareness of the biggest strikes is better than nothing.
Has option expiry information ever been used to adjust trading around the 10am cut?