The data · what the engine reads

Sixty-five contracts, eighteen years of one-minute bars, and every line we threw out.

The engine runs on FirstRate Data's one-minute continuous futures files, unadjusted. Before a contract is offered, the loader reads every line and refuses any it cannot trust: a bar whose high sits below its close, a minute with zero volume. Those lines are excluded and counted, never repaired. The table is what the loader reported on September 3, 2026; the same facts print on every report, computed again from the file at run time.

Three columns need a word. Span is the first and last bar in the file; short histories carry a printed caution on the report under ten years. Excluded is the count of lines the loader refused, by kind: almost all are flat placeholder bars (open, high, low and close equal, volume zero) that the vendor emitted for minutes with no trades, concentrated in 2008 to 2011, and excluding them is the same as the gap they should have been; a few are rows that fail the price-bounds check outright. Tick and $/point are what the report's dollars are computed with.

Equity Indices

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
ES · E-mini S&P 5002008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,514,391none0.25 / $50
EW · E-mini S&P MidCap 4002008-01-02 to 2026-08-142,803,1931 flat zero-volume bar0.1 / $100
M2K · Micro E-mini Russell 20002019-05-06 to 2026-08-142,401,837none0.1 / $5
MES · Micro E-mini S&P 5002019-05-06 to 2026-08-142,562,354none0.25 / $5
MFS · E-mini MSCI EAFE2009-09-08 to 2026-08-141,878,0804 flat zero-volume bars0.05 / $50
MME · E-mini MSCI Emerging Mkts2009-09-08 to 2026-08-143,356,0491 flat zero-volume bar0.05 / $50
MNQ · Micro E-mini Nasdaq-1002019-05-06 to 2026-08-142,550,992none0.25 / $2
NKD · Nikkei 225 (USD)2008-03-05 to 2026-08-143,822,165none5 / $5
NQ · E-mini Nasdaq-1002008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,180,656none0.25 / $20
RTY · E-mini Russell 20002008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,187,110506 flat zero-volume bars; caution: density steps up from 2018 (about 400 bars a day in 2008, about 1,000 through 2017, about 1,300 since); lookbacks counted in bars span more clock time in the thin years0.1 / $50
VX · VIX Futures2008-08-05 to 2026-08-142,855,3767 flat zero-volume bars0.05 / $1,000
VXM · Mini VIX Futures2020-08-10 to 2026-08-14641,44833 flat zero-volume bars0.05 / $100
YM · E-mini Dow2008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,144,1941,148 flat zero-volume bars1 / $5

Energy

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
B · Brent Crude (ICE)2008-02-25 to 2026-08-145,274,708262 flat zero-volume bars0.01 / $1,000
BZ · Brent Crude (CME)2008-02-25 to 2026-08-142,708,151none0.01 / $1,000
CL · Crude Oil WTI2008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,396,703287 flat zero-volume bars0.01 / $1,000
HH · Natural Gas Last-Day2010-08-30 to 2026-08-14241,610none0.001 / $10,000
HO · NY Harbor ULSD (Heating Oil)2008-02-19 to 2026-08-143,023,500186 flat zero-volume bars0.0001 / $42,000
MCL · Micro WTI Crude2021-07-11 to 2026-08-141,758,113none0.01 / $100
NG · Natural Gas Henry Hub2008-02-25 to 2026-08-145,110,134472 flat zero-volume bars0.001 / $10,000
QG · E-mini Natural Gas2008-02-25 to 2026-08-142,152,554191 flat zero-volume bars0.005 / $2,500
RB · RBOB Gasoline2008-02-10 to 2026-08-142,811,878136 flat zero-volume bars0.0001 / $42,000

Metals

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
GC · Gold2008-01-28 to 2026-08-146,488,551960 flat zero-volume bars0.1 / $100
HG · Copper2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,719,413637 flat zero-volume bars0.0005 / $25,000
MGC · Micro Gold2010-10-03 to 2026-08-143,345,562none0.1 / $10
PL · Platinum2008-01-02 to 2026-08-144,317,441230 flat zero-volume bars0.1 / $50
SI · Silver2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,901,673641 flat zero-volume bars0.005 / $5,000
SIL · Micro Silver (1,000 oz)2013-06-24 to 2026-08-142,120,635none0.005 / $1,000

Rates

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
TN · Ultra 10-Year T-Note2016-01-11 to 2026-08-142,595,961none0.015625 / $1,000
UB · Ultra T-Bond2010-01-11 to 2026-08-144,031,603none0.03125 / $1,000
US · 30-Year T-Bond2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,485,603none0.03125 / $1,000
ZF · 5-Year T-Note2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,420,8911 row failing the OHLC bounds check0.0078125 / $1,000
ZN · 10-Year T-Note2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,616,6263 rows failing the OHLC bounds check0.015625 / $1,000
ZT · 2-Year T-Note2008-01-02 to 2026-08-143,865,210none0.0078125 / $2,000

Currencies

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
A6 · Australian Dollar2008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,187,0801 flat zero-volume bar5e-05 / $100,000
B6 · British Pound2008-01-02 to 2026-08-145,933,9281 flat zero-volume bar0.0001 / $62,500
BR · Brazilian Real2008-02-28 to 2026-08-14333,968none5e-05 / $100,000
DX · US Dollar Index (ICE)2008-01-02 to 2026-08-144,639,647987 flat zero-volume bars0.005 / $1,000
E6 · Euro FX2008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,413,2891 row failing the OHLC bounds check5e-05 / $125,000
E7 · E-mini Euro FX2008-01-02 to 2026-08-143,715,171none0.0001 / $62,500
J1 · Japanese Yen2008-01-02 to 2026-08-146,333,521none5e-07 / $12,500,000
J7 · E-mini Japanese Yen2008-01-02 to 2026-08-141,159,621none1e-06 / $6,250,000
MP · Mexican Peso2008-01-02 to 2026-08-143,813,5203 flat zero-volume bars1e-05 / $500,000

Agriculture

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
CC · Cocoa2008-02-04 to 2026-08-142,065,036289 flat zero-volume bars1 / $10
CT · Cotton2008-02-25 to 2026-08-141,966,21730 flat zero-volume bars0.01 / $500
DC · Class III Milk2008-01-02 to 2026-08-14299,6751 flat zero-volume bar0.01 / $2,000
GF · Feeder Cattle2008-01-10 to 2026-08-141,081,247none0.025 / $500
HE · Lean Hogs2008-01-18 to 2026-08-141,373,889none0.025 / $400
KC · Coffee2008-01-02 to 2026-08-142,302,027337 flat zero-volume bars0.05 / $375
KE · KC Hard Red Wheat2008-02-24 to 2026-08-142,071,2303,006 flat zero-volume bars0.25 / $50
LBS · Lumber (Random Length, to May 15, 2023)2008-10-20 to 2023-05-15 (engine window)366,703 in the filenone; the random-length contract (110,000 board feet, $110 a point) last traded May 15, 2023, and the chained series runs past that date carrying the 27,500-board-foot contract listed August 8, 2022 (LBR, $27.50 a point). Since Sep 9, 2026 the engine reads LBS only to 2023-05-15 and prices the later bars as LBR (the next row), so dollars are right on both sides of the cut; the file is thin throughout (about 80 bars a day). Sources: firstratedata.com/i/futures/LBS; barchart.com LSK23 contract specifications; CME Group via madisonsreport.com, read Sep 6, 2026; the two-instrument window from instruments.py v0.2, Sep 9, 20260.1 / $110 to May 2023
LBR · Lumber (27,500 board feet, from May 16, 2023)2023-05-16 to 2026-08-14 (engine window on the LBS file)the LBS file's later barsnone; the same FirstRate series as LBS, read from 2023-05-16 at $27.50 a point (tick $0.50). Three years of history, so the short-history caution fires on every LBR run. Source: CME lumber (LBR) contract specifications; instruments.py v0.2, Sep 9, 2026—
LE · Live Cattle2008-01-15 to 2026-08-141,535,808none0.025 / $400
OJ · Orange Juice2008-02-25 to 2026-08-14634,762151 flat zero-volume bars0.05 / $150
SB · Sugar No. 112008-02-25 to 2026-08-142,470,019102 flat zero-volume bars0.01 / $1,120
XC · Mini Corn2008-02-25 to 2026-08-14849,247none0.125 / $10
ZC · Corn2008-02-19 to 2026-08-143,244,1041,925 flat zero-volume bars0.25 / $50
ZL · Soybean Oil2008-01-02 to 2026-08-143,118,7242,068 flat zero-volume bars0.01 / $600
ZM · Soybean Meal2008-02-25 to 2026-08-142,812,414696 rows failing the OHLC bounds check; 2,620 flat zero-volume bars; caution: 696 rows failed the OHLC bounds check in 2008 and 2009 and were dropped, along with 2,620 flat zero-volume bars0.1 / $100
ZO · Oats2008-02-25 to 2026-08-14430,3851,320 flat zero-volume bars0.25 / $50
ZR · Rough Rice2008-02-25 to 2026-08-14487,421608 flat zero-volume bars0.005 / $2,000
ZS · Soybeans2008-03-03 to 2026-08-143,472,3251,844 flat zero-volume bars0.25 / $50
ZW · Chicago Wheat2008-01-02 to 2026-08-143,360,1271,776 flat zero-volume bars0.25 / $50

Crypto

ContractSpanOne-minute barsExcludedTick / $ per point
BTC · Bitcoin (CME, 5 BTC)2017-12-26 to 2026-08-141,821,784none5 / $5
MBT · Micro Bitcoin2021-05-03 to 2026-08-141,313,364none5 / $0.1
MET · Micro Ether2021-12-06 to 2026-08-14639,584none0.5 / $0.1

Where this comes from

The loader is firstrate_loader.py, the same code that reads the file before every run. Its rules: every line must parse; high at or above open and close, low at or below; high at or above low; volume at least one; timestamps strictly increasing. A line that fails any of them is excluded and reported with its reason. The engine never fills a gap, never smooths a bar, never adjusts a price. The full loader output for this table is filed as data-dispositions-2026-09-03-bundle.txt, and the review of the first four contracts loaded (with the RTY density caution) as data-dispositions-2026-09-03.txt.

Micro contracts (MES, MNQ, M2K, MGC, SIL, MCL, MBT, MET, VXM) start in 2019 to 2021 because that is when they were listed; the report's short-history caution says so on their runs.

Measured on this file

Questions a trading forum asks of the file, answered on the whole file with the measurement written down before it ran, published either way. Does the Sunday gap fill on Monday? ES, 923 Mondays: Monday came back to Friday's close 53.1% of the time and went the same distance the other way 53.8%.