Hello traders,
While most headlines focus only on corporate earnings or U.S. macro numbers, I’ve got my eyes on something else: the EU-China summit in Beijing this week.
Now, I’m not trading this event directly. But let me walk you through how I’m using it to shape my bias, especially in industrial metals and global macro futures.
First, What’s Happening?
EU leaders are sitting down with President Xi in China. It’s a high-level summit that might sound like foreign politics at first glance, but let me tell you, this kind of meeting can ripple straight into the futures markets we trade right here in the U.S.
Let me break down why this matters for us and how I’m personally using it to prepare.
The geopolitical relationships have been under strain for months, across the globe.
We’re talking trade fights over electric vehicles, rare earths, supply chains – things that feed directly into the global economy.
And guess who’s in the middle of that supply chain? U.S. manufacturers, exporters, and investors.
This isn’t the kind of event I trade blindly. But I treat it like a volatility trap – calm before something moves. While headlines chase noise, this is how I read the shift before it moves the tape, with clarity and patience.
Here’s how I’m positioning
I’m watching key levels in commodities, especially in Cooper. If we get a headline that signals improved trade flow or an EV deal, I’ll step into a small long position with a tight leash.
As I’m writing this, I’m flat ES and NQ, but if global sentiment picks up, we could see tailwinds for U.S. tech and multinationals.
If this summit leads to better cooperation between China and Europe, it opens the door for increased trade flow, easing some of the tension we’ve been trading around since last year.
More stability in global demand usually shows up in markets like:
Copper and aluminum – tied to infrastructure, EVs, and tech.
Euro futures – a cleaner signal for global risk-on shifts.
Crude oil and global indexes – indirect but sensitive to trade optimism.
If you’re trading from Chicago or New York or Texas, or anywhere else, don’t make the mistake of thinking global headlines are someone else’s business.
Trade is global. Supply chains are global.
And futures are priced off what the world expects.
This summit in China might not move the Dow on its own. But it could shift the tone of everything from metals to currencies – and that’s where I look for edge.
I learned this through Auction Market Theory and if you’re still trading based on patterns alone or relying on lagging indicators, you’re missing the deeper layer – the layer that actually explains why price moves.
Watch the story. Prepare the setup. And let price action do the talking.
See you in the next one.
Imre Gams
Editor, The Trading Room
