Scheduled macro events — the CPI print, an FOMC decision, the monthly jobs report — are known in advance, and the options market prices for them ahead of time. That pre-positioning creates a predictable implied volatility pattern that can make or break a long option.

The ramp and the crush

Into the event, uncertainty is high, so IV ramps up and option premiums richen — the market is charging more for the unknown. The instant the number drops and the uncertainty resolves, that premium is no longer justified, so IV collapses — the “IV crush.” An option you bought into the ramp can lose value the moment the news hits, even if SPY moves your way, because the vol you paid for just evaporated.

The 0DTE nuance

On a same-day option, vega is small, so the crush hits 0DTE contracts less through vega than it hits longer-dated ones. But the event's realized move — the actual whipsaw around a 2pm Fed statement — slams 0DTE through gamma. So the danger shifts from “vol got repriced” to “the tape whipped both ways in ten minutes.”

Buy an option into an event and you're paying peak vol for the privilege of the crush. The number can go your way and the option still deflate.

Trading around it

Respect the expected move — it's widest right before these events for exactly this reason. Many scalpers stand aside through the first violent minutes and trade the structure that forms after the dust settles, rather than buying rich premium into the print and hoping. Know which risk you're actually taking: on 0DTE it's the whipsaw, not the vega.