Advertise on podcast: The Futures Rundown

Crude oil climbs, silver tumbles, and inflation keeps futures traders focused on the Fed. On this episode, we welcome back Dan "The Man" Gramza of Gramza Capital Management to break down the biggest futures market movers—and explore why we might owe modern financial futures to the meats. We discuss the geopolitical risk premium driving crude oil and heating oil, the sharp selloff in silver, and the struggle for direction in Bitcoin and Ethereum. Dan also shares his perspective on the stock market pullback, Treasury futures activity, and the economic reports that could shape the next move. Plus, we explore elevated beef prices, the challenges facing CME's new lean beef trimmings futures contract, and Dan's take on how livestock futures helped pave the way for currency and stock index futures. We round things out with dairy, grain markets, the strong dollar, and a little appreciation for a good corned beef hash.

Can your hockey team win a game while its performance index falls? Tim McCourt of CME Group and Rhett Dinsdale of FutureSports Performance Indexes join The Futures Rundown to explain the mechanics behind NHL team performance futures. Explore how these sports futures use official league statistics and performance milestones, how futures prices reflect expectations, and what separates these contracts from traditional sports betting and prediction markets. The discussion covers contract sizes, weekly and monthly expirations, cash settlement, and potential hedging applications for sponsors, venue operators and season ticket holders. Plus, hear about potential expansion into baseball, interest in sports options, and the latest futures market activity across sugar, natural gas, cocoa, precious metals, Ether, equity indexes and Treasuries.

Coffee rallies, corn tumbles and cattle futures tell a different story from the prices consumers pay for beef. Mark Longo welcomes Kevin Green of Schwab Network to break down a volatile week across agricultural commodities, Treasury futures and energy markets. On this episode of The Futures Rundown: Coffee, cattle, dairy and grain futures lead a wild week in consumable commodities. Kevin examines the USDA report behind the selloff in corn. Beef imports and demand for American-raised cattle reshape the outlook for producers. Heavy Treasury futures activity puts the spotlight on rising yields and bond volatility. Widening credit spreads raise questions about a relatively calm equity market. Natural gas seasonality, LNG demand and winter weather shape Kevin's outlook. Crude oil, heating oil and refining constraints round out the energy discussion. Plus, Kevin shares how trading cattle futures helped inspire his growing family cattle operation.

What could a powerful El Niño mean for the futures markets this winter? Mark Longo welcomes Jim Roemer, founder of Best Weather Inc., to examine the weather patterns affecting agricultural and energy commodities. They discuss the outlook for sugar, cocoa, wheat and soybeans, including how South American crops and Chinese demand could shift the picture. Jim also explains why a warm winter could matter for natural gas and heating oil, and how traders can use futures and options to manage weather risk. Plus, Mark runs through the week's biggest futures movers and most active contracts.

Energy markets take center stage as crude oil, heating oil and RBOB grapple with major supply disruptions, refining constraints and an increasingly complicated geopolitical backdrop. On this episode of The Futures Rundown, Mark Longo welcomes back Brian Pieri, founder of Energy Rogue, for a deep dive into the wild action across the energy complex. Brian breaks down the disconnect between the physical and financial crude oil markets and explains why today's oil market feels like a volatile game of volleyball — with traders trying to keep crude in the air while waiting to see who eventually spikes it. They also explore the surge in heating oil and diesel, refining bottlenecks, RBOB, natural gas seasonality, LNG exports and the growing impact of AI-driven electricity demand. Plus, Mark and Brian run through the biggest weekly and year-to-date movers across futures, including energy, metals, agriculture and crypto. Then it's time for the Futures Free-for-All, with listener questions on USO vs. XLE, the challenges of futures-based energy ETFs, memories of crude oil's historic plunge below zero in 2020, and the outlook for nuclear power and uranium.

Coffee is dropping, crude is climbing and somewhere a confused barista is being asked to explain why your latte isn't getting any cheaper. On this episode of The Futures Rundown, Mark Longo is joined by Dan Gramza of Gramza Capital Management to break down another wild week across the futures markets. They explore the selloff in coffee, cocoa, cotton and wheat; the latest moves in crude oil and refined products; renewed action in the yen and euro; growing momentum in copper; surprising weakness in natural gas; and what the upcoming inflation data could mean for markets. Plus, Dan shares what he's watching next in the ags, gold and silver.

The yen makes a surprise return to the futures spotlight as intervention talk heats up and trading activity surges. On this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo breaks down the latest action across the futures markets, including the unusual spike in yen futures volume amid renewed speculation about support from the Bank of Japan. We also examine the wild moves in energy, with WTI, Brent and heating oil charging higher, while gold, silver and platinum head in the opposite direction. Plus, we run through the most active futures contracts on the tape and check in on the biggest winners and losers of the year across energy, metals, rates, crypto, volatility and more.

Is the bottom finally in for gold and silver? On this episode of The Futures Rundown, host Mark Longo is joined by Dana Samuelson, Founder and President of American Gold Exchange, for a deep dive into the wild precious metals market. Gold and silver have been on a roller coaster in 2026, but after recent intervention in the currency and Treasury markets, Dana believes the lows may finally be behind us. We break down what has been driving the metals markets, why gold initially struggled during the Iran conflict, and whether the next major move could be higher. We also discuss: Why rising Treasury yields pressured gold The impact of intervention in the yen and Treasury markets Whether the bottom is really in for gold and silver What physical gold and silver investors are doing right now The outlook for platinum and palladium Why Dana is watching crude oil and diesel for the next potential market shock The latest movers across futures, including Bitcoin and Ethereum Why wheat is emerging as another market to watch Plus, we break down the biggest weekly and year-to-date movers across the futures markets. Is this the beginning of the next leg higher for precious metals—or just another bounce in an already wild year?

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.

Mark Longo welcomes veteran trader Dan "The Man" Gramza of Gramza Capital Management back to the trading pit to break down a wild, volatile week across the global macro landscape. Mark and Dan dive deep into the renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and why energy markets are suddenly dominating the tape again. From crude oil and heating oil surges to unexpected movements in crypto and commodities, they separate the signal from the noise. In this episode, they discuss: The Energy Resurgence: Why crude oil, RBOB gasoline, and heating oil are lighting up the top performance lists. Commodity Shockers: What is driving the massive 19%+ explosive move in Cocoa? Crypto Volatility: A look at Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) as they struggle with ongoing volatility despite near-term spikes. The "Teenie" B100: First impressions of Bloomberg's new index futures and potential spread trading opportunities against the Nasdaq. Blame the Kiwis? The surprising history behind the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target and why New Zealand is at the root of it all. Equity Market Outlook: Dan's technical predictions for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq neutral-zone bounds over the summer.

It was a brutal week across many of the most popular futures markets. On this episode of The Futures Rundown, Mark Longo breaks down a massive selloff that hammered precious metals, cryptocurrencies, and other key futures products. Silver led the losers, plunging nearly 20% on the week, while Bitcoin and Ether continued their painful year-to-date declines. Meanwhile, energy markets remained volatile as traders digested developments in the Middle East and watched fuel prices retreat from recent highs. Inside this episode: Silver's stunning collapse and why traders are watching the July 40 puts Bitcoin and Ether continue their 2026 bloodletting Platinum and palladium join the precious metals selloff Cocoa stages a surprising comeback VIX futures catch a bid The year's biggest winners and losers across the futures landscape Record activity in Nasdaq Micro futures RBOB gasoline and heating oil pull back from their recent highs What futures traders should be watching next