Insights 
VT 
On 3rd November, foreign exchange option expiries at the New York cut at 10:00 Eastern Time are recorded.
For EUR/USD, options are set at 1.1400 with 686 million euros and at 1.1450 with 772 million euros.
Usd Jpy Option Expiries
USD/JPY options include 1.1 billion USD at 150.00, 385 million USD at 151.50, and 401 million USD at 152.50.
In the GBP/USD market, options are at 1.3100 for 468 million GBP and at 1.3350 for 372 million GBP.
For AUD/USD, an option is noted at 0.6600 with 338 million AUD.
EUR/GBP options show a set point at 0.8775 with a value of 300 million euros.
We are seeing large option expiries in EUR/USD at 1.1400 and 1.1450, which will act as magnets for price action today. This strength in the euro reflects a growing policy divergence, with recent US jobs data showing hiring slowed to 150,000 in October, suggesting the Federal Reserve may cut rates sooner than the European Central Bank. The latest Eurozone inflation report, showing a sticky 2.5% annual figure, supports the view that the ECB will remain cautious for longer.
The massive $1.1 billion expiry at the 150.00 level in USD/JPY is a clear signal that this zone remains critical, much like it was during the intervention periods we saw back in 2022 and 2023. Although the Bank of Japan formally ended its negative interest rate policy earlier this year, the wide rate differential with the US continues to fuel carry trades. Traders should remain positioned for volatility but be wary of official jawboning, as this level has historically triggered action from the Ministry of Finance.
Gbp Usd Market Trends
For GBP/USD, the significant options at 1.3100 and 1.3350 are a bet on continued dollar weakness and relative pound resilience. The Bank of England is still grappling with persistent service-sector inflation, a challenge that has been present since inflation peaked at 11.1% in late 2022. This lingering price pressure is keeping the BoE more hawkish than the Fed, creating a bullish case for the pound in the coming weeks.
Traders should use these large expiry levels as key pivot points for positioning over the next few weeks, as they represent areas of significant vested interest. Given the diverging central bank themes, buying volatility through structures like straddles or strangles could be advantageous ahead of upcoming inflation reports. These option barriers indicate where a large number of positions could be defended or unwound, creating localized price swings.
The AUD/USD expiry at 0.6600 highlights a more range-bound sentiment, with the pair caught between a weaker US dollar and ongoing uncertainty in China’s economy. Recent manufacturing PMI data from China has continued to fluctuate just above the 50-point mark, failing to signal a robust recovery and capping the Aussie’s upside potential. Meanwhile, the EUR/GBP option at 0.8775 points to a period of consolidation, as both the UK and Eurozone face similar, albeit slowly moderating, inflationary battles.
