Fair Value Tracker: Choose The Right Contract Pair And Roll View
A practical Fair Value Tracker lesson for choosing the contract selector before reading basis, history, scanner rows, or roll-sensitive gaps.
Lesson promise
Frame the question
Am I comparing the right local contract to the right global contract?
Check the evidence
Use 5 guided chapters to read freshness, confidence, and caveats in order.
Move into the tool
Open Open Fair Value Tracker with a checklist instead of a blank screen.
Educational workflow only. No trade recommendations, personalized advice, leverage guidance, or guaranteed outcomes.
Chapter 01
Use front contracts for the immediate lane
Trader question
Am I comparing the right local contract to the right global contract?
Front vs front is the most immediate comparison lane. It is useful for a current desk read, but the learner should still check contract codes, expiry dates, position ranks, and roll pressure before interpreting basis.
Desk checklist
- Select front vs front for current context.
- Read both contract codes and expiries.
- Add a roll caveat when front month is near expiry.
Interactive proof
Contract selector, contract summary, front regional and global markets contract codes
Use the contract-pair board to inspect front regional and global markets expiries before reading the gap.
Contract selector is part of the evidence. A basis gap becomes reviewable only after the local and global contract lane answers the same desk question.
Interactive desk lab
Contract Pair Board
A practical Fair Value Tracker contract-pair board for choosing front, next, matched DTE, or continuous roll before interpreting a basis gap.
A practical Fair Value Tracker contract-pair board for choosing front, next, matched DTE, or continuous roll before interpreting a basis gap.
Front month is the immediate lane
Front local market and front COMEX cards light up for the current desk read while a roll-warning stamp stays visible.
Front local market and front COMEX cards enter together.
A current desk read badge appears.
A roll-warning stamp stays beside the basis card.
The video ends by naming front as current context, not default truth.
Lesson notes
The full chapter walkthrough in reading form — use it to review the lesson or skim ahead before working through the interactive steps above.
Chapter 01
Use front contracts for the immediate lane
Am I comparing the right local contract to the right global contract?
Front vs front is the most immediate comparison lane. It is useful for a current desk read, but the learner should still check contract codes, expiry dates, position ranks, and roll pressure before interpreting basis.
Contract selector, contract summary, front regional and global markets contract codes
- Select front vs front for current context.
- Read both contract codes and expiries.
- Add a roll caveat when front month is near expiry.
Chapter 02
Move to next when the roll question matters
Has the desk question moved beyond the front contract?
Next vs next helps around roll windows when attention or liquidity may be shifting forward. It is not automatically better; it is a different comparison lens.
Contract selector next, position rank 2, and contract summary
- Use next when roll pressure makes front noisy.
- Check whether next contracts are relevant and liquid.
- Say that the comparison lens moved forward.
Chapter 03
Use matched DTE for expiry discipline
Can expiry mismatch create a misleading gap?
Matched DTE tries to compare legs with closer days to expiry. This reduces one source of misleading basis, but it does not remove liquidity, freshness, or cost-profile caveats.
Matched expiry days selector, expiry dates, DTE gap, and contract pair
- Use matched DTE when expiry mismatch is the risk.
- Confirm both expiry dates.
- Keep liquidity and freshness caveats attached.
Chapter 04
Use continuous roll for longer history
Which selector should I use before comparing a longer history?
Continuous roll is a history lens. It stitches contracts into a longer path, so the roll rule must travel with any chart, scanner, or history note.
Continuous roll selector, historical chart, scanner, and roll caveat
- Use continuous roll for longer history.
- Label the roll rule in the note.
- Do not mix continuous history with a single live front-month gap.
Chapter 05
Stop a wrong-lane gap before it becomes a story
What would invalidate this basis read before price even matters?
A basis gap can look rich or cheap because the contract lane is wrong. The learner should first ask whether the selected regional and global markets legs answer the same desk question.
Contract selector, Overview contract summary, History, and Scanner selector filters
- Identify the desk question.
- Choose the contract selector that answers it.
- Describe the gap only after the lane is defensible.
Sources used for this tutorial
Next step
Open the tool with the checklist beside you.
Move from the lesson into the matching Bullion Brains tool, keep the checklist visible, and treat the output as evidence until the caveats are clear.