medium · Order Flow Analysis order-book-dom

A liquid future shows a 5,000-lot resting offer at 4210.00 that persists for 40 seconds despite the inside bid lifting toward it. During those 40 seconds, time & sales prints ~18,000 contracts trading AT 4210.00 (lifting that offer) yet the displayed 5,000-lot size barely changes, and price does not advance through 4210.00.

Which interpretation of this displayed-size behavior is best supported?

  1. An iceberg/refreshing offer is absorbing aggressive buying: the 5,000 is a replenished tip, far more size is hidden, and lack of upward progress signals genuine sell-side absorption at 4210.00.
  2. A spoof: the 5,000-lot is repeatedly pulled before execution to fake supply, so the 18,000 that traded actually reflects aggressive buyers chasing a phantom level that will vanish immediately once tested.
  3. Stacked passive bids are being hit by aggressive sellers at 4210.00, so the heavy volume is initiative selling absorbed by a large resting buyer who refuses to let price fall further.
  4. Latency-arbitrage queue-jumping: faster participants keep re-inserting the same order at front of queue, so liquidity is effectively counted 18,000 times though little real size exists.

Sign up free to see the explanation and track your rank →

More Order Flow Analysis order-book-dom practice

KomFi: Test Prep Made Easy

KomFi: Test Prep Made Easy — free adaptive practice for GMAT, GRE, SAT, ACT, National Real Estate Exam, Investment Banking, and finance with full explanations.

KomFi Academy is free GMAT prep and personalized GMAT help built as a training platform: 77,980+ practice questions, 26,500+ flashcards, on-demand video lectures, podcasts, and 4K slide decks. Flagship tracks: Free GMAT Prep, Free GMAT Resources, National Real Estate Exam Prep, Investment Banking Prep, Finance Prep, GRE, SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, Financial Accounting, Private Equity, Private Credit, and Quantitative Finance.

Free GMAT Prep & Personalized GMAT Help

What's inside

Topics

View pricing · Read testimonials