The Futures Rundown

On this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo welcomes back Brett Friedman of Winhall Risk Analytics and OptionMetrics for a deep dive into one of the strangest stories in the futures markets: crude oil's surprisingly underwhelming response to a major geopolitical conflict.
With dire supply warnings and plenty of doom-and-gloom predictions, many expected crude to explode higher. Instead, the rally has repeatedly struggled to live up to the hype. Brett compares the current environment with previous oil-market disruptions, including the historic volatility of 2020, and explains why this latest episode hasn't come close to matching those extremes.
We also discuss:
Why crude oil hasn't behaved the way many fundamental analysts expected
The unusual volatility picture in WTI
What's driving heating oil and gasoline
Why gold and silver have fallen out of the market spotlight
The return of the AI trade and the "most hated" equity rally
What's happening in rates and the Fed-watching game
Natural gas and the strange predictability of seasonal trading
The steepening VIX futures curve
Why palladium may have attracted the wrong crowd
Whether traders are using the VIX the wrong way
And much more

What happens when one of futures trading's most active voices joins us live from a secret "Batcave?" Plenty of market insight—and more than a few laughs.
This week, Mark Longo is joined by Jermal Chandler (tastytrade) to break down the biggest stories moving the futures markets, including:
Crude oil's wild reversal and why headlines continue to drive energy markets
Gold, silver and palladium showing renewed strength
Bond futures dominating trading activity as traders watch the Fed
Nasdaq futures, tech volatility and the latest AI-driven market rotation
The return of Bloomberg's B100 futures
Are traders actually embracing the new Single Stock Futures?
VIX volatility fades following another blockbuster earnings season
Plus, the hottest futures products of the week, year-to-date leaders and laggards, and what active futures traders are watching next.

Something looks a little off in the futures markets.
On this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo is joined by Carley Garner of DeCarley Trading to break down a wild Fed Day and the increasingly unusual signals emerging across the futures landscape.
They discuss the market reaction to the latest Fed decision, whether changes in liquidity and money supply could usher in a new market regime, and why Carley is seeing potential signs of liquidation across multiple asset classes.
They also explore the return of single-stock futures, including the opportunities and challenges surrounding these products, early liquidity concerns, potential capital and tax efficiencies, and whether futures on names like NVIDIA, Tesla and Apple can finally gain traction.
Plus, they examine the latest action in crude oil and the energy complex, VIX futures, rates, equities, cattle, sugar, coffee, crypto, metals, OJ and more.

Has crude oil finally returned to fair value after one of the year's biggest geopolitical shocks?
This week on The Futures Rundown, Mark Longo welcomes back Morad Askar of EdgeClear to examine why crude oil has retraced nearly its entire Iran-driven rally and what "returning to the scene of the crime" means from a market profile perspective. They also dive into the hottest futures markets, from energy and grains to metals, crypto, and equity indexes.
The discussion covers whether today's volatility is creating opportunity or chaos, why retail traders continue to dominate Nasdaq Micro futures, and what the return of single-stock futures could mean for active traders.
In this episode:
Why crude oil has returned to its pre-war equilibrium
WTI, Brent and the outlook for energy markets
Gold, silver and whether precious metals have finally found fair value
Coffee, cocoa, cattle and the surprising commodity landscape
Why Nasdaq Micro futures continue to dominate trading volume
Retail traders, prop firms and index futures activity
Bitcoin, Ethereum and crypto futures trends
The return of CME single-stock futures and why traders should pay attention

Why are the futures markets acting so strange? In this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo welcomes back Mr. Rich Excell, Director of the Derivatives and Trading Academy at the Gies College of Business (University of Illinois)—frequently dubbed the "Hogwarts for derivatives traders."
Mark and Rich dive deep into the concept of "unexpected performance" across the tape. When prices fail to rally on good news or refuse to drop on bad news, it's a major indicator of crowded positioning. The duo dissects the anomaly of falling livestock prices despite record Midwest heat waves, the rock-bottom correlation compressing index-level volatility (VIX), and why everyone is watching the E-Mini technical chart patterns for an impending breakout.
What's Inside This Episode:
The Trading Pit (Movers & Shakers): Analyzing why Natural Gas and Orange Juice (OJ) are stuck in the cellar, while Wheat variants and Ethereum (ETH) lead the charge to the green zone.

The Volume Breakdown: Breaking down the massive spikes in Nasdaq Micro contracts and why fixed-income volume is surging despite muted data reactions.

Equities & Macro Outlook: Why strong economic fundamentals and robust corporate earnings point toward a potential summer breakout, despite heavy confusion in the pit.

Foreign Exchange & Metals Focus: Rich shares his structural look at the Japanese Yen, the Aussie/Yen growth indicator, and whether Gold is settled into a long-term range trade.

The Futures Free-For-All: Answering listener questions on crypto hype, the possibility of a "water futures" contract, and whether the VIX is heading for the summer doldrums or a sudden spike.