Futures Unlocked Ep. 2 | Oct 12, 2026 — CPI Week Ahead: Gold, Crude Oil, ES, NQ, Euro & Dow Futures Outlook Episode aired: Oct 12, 2026 | Runtime: ~34 minutes | Host: Irina Pchelintceva (@shewhotrades_) In the second episode of Futures Unlocked, futures trader and Substack writer Irina Pchelintceva prepares traders for a week built around two inflation reports. She covers what happened last week, the weekend headlines and the chart levels she’s watching in the most-traded contracts. She opens with a scorecard. Last week’s dominant theme was yields, which eased after a well-received Treasury auction with strong international demand. She had expected gold and the euro to be the cleanest trades. Instead, the S&P (ES) and Nasdaq (NQ) were: ES hit her third target, and NQ hit its first target before she closed it near the second. Crude oil’s first short target and the euro’s first target were also hit. She stayed out of gold, which chopped around, and explains that choppy markets often build up liquidity before a move. Gold broke higher on Friday. The macro picture is mixed. The 30-year, 10-year and 2-year yields are all trending lower, which is good for gold, the Nasdaq and the euro. The dollar is still rising, driven by crude oil and geopolitical risk. Weekend headlines: Iran called the U.S. response to a Strait of Hormuz proposal insufficient; there were unconfirmed claims of attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities; and the Trump administration reached a deal for Russian diesel, which knocked crude lower before it rebounded. Bonds don’t trade on Columbus Day. The calendar is dominated by CPI on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET, which Irina plans to trade in gold and probably the euro, and PPI with jobless claims on Thursday. Bank earnings from JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, BlackRock, Bank of America and regional lenders can move the Russell 2000. JPMorgan is heavily weighted in the Dow. Her scenario map: a cooler CPI should mean lower yields and dollar, higher ES, NQ, gold and euro, with crude largely unaffected. A hotter CPI means the opposite. A neutral print means choppy trading. Then the charts: – ES: a strong weekly candle and a rising channel. A possible entry is near 7,853, with lower-timeframe confirmation. Invalidation is 7,760, then 7,710. She reminds viewers the midterm elections are three weeks away, and warns Bitcoin futures traders in particular. – NQ: a weekly indecision candle and a 4-hour RSI below 50, so going long is premature until price closes above 31,076. Targets are 31,560 and 31,828. Invalidation is 30,740, with 30,430 below. A short opens below 30,723. – Crude oil: bullish, with a weekly hammer and a daily hidden bullish divergence that projects toward 113 over time. The near-term target is 95.78, and invalidation is a close below 89.63, then 87 and 83. – Gold: a weekly bullish hammer that swept liquidity, and a daily RSI above 50, which points to a relief rally. She’s waiting for a 4-hour close back above resistance near 4,200. Targets are 4,290, then 4,431 above a major selling zone. Invalidation is a close below 4,163. – Euro, pound, Australian dollar and the Dow: the euro needs to reclaim a key level. Pound and Aussie dollar contracts could set up, and the Dow shows a bullish divergence ahead of bank earnings. For beginners, she points to Tradier’s nano contracts on ES, NQ, the Dow and the Russell, with day-trading margin of around $40. Her ranking for the week: gold first, then ES. Key takeaways: – CPI and PPI set the week’s direction: cool favors gold, equities and the euro; hot favors the dollar. – Falling yields support gold and the Nasdaq, while crude oil and geopolitics hold up the dollar. – Wait for lower-timeframe confirmation; use invalidation levels. – Nano contracts let new futures traders test setups with small margin. Futures are leveraged and involve substantial risk of loss. This episode is educational and not a recommendation. 📅 Live every Monday at 12:00 PM ET |
