Tag Archives: forex

Market Analysis

The Forex Market – Deciding When and When not to Trade

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The movie ‘A Good Year’ begins with a scene that takes place in the financial centers of London, England where the protagonist Max Skinner earns over $70 million dollars in a single morning with his agressive trading style. There is a quote from that scene that is relevant to all traders: “The secret to riches is the same as the secret to comedy… Timing.”

In currency trading, knowing when to get in and knowing when to get out is what its all about. Having a profitable trading strategy is a great thing, but even the best trading strategy in the world will fall apart if it is not executed with proper entry and exit points. This article will show you a few forex market analysis methods that you can use to determine when is a good time to trade, and more importantly when to stay on the sidelines.

If you are already a trader then you have probably narrowed down a list of currency pairs (or perhaps just a single popular currency pair like the EUR/USD) that you feel comfortable trading and that fits your trading style. Once you know the pair you are trading, the next step is to open up your price charts and determine where the market is and where it is likely to go next.

One of the best ways to determine the overall trend of any set of price data is to overlay a 200-period moving average line. This principle applies whether you are looking at a 15-minute chart or a daily chart, and the nature of your trading strategy will determine how big of a price movement you are trying to capture and consequently which time frame is most relevant to your trading.

If you had a short-term forex trading strategy where you went for gains in the range of 10-30 pips per trade, a 10-minute or 15-minute chart would serve you well and you could look at your moving average line to see if the market is in an uptrend, a downtrend, or if there is no defined trend. You may likely want to stay out of the market if there is a sideways moving market because these market conditions are the hardest to predict.

It will also serve you well to bring up a longer term price chart for your chosen currency pair such as a 4-hour or daily chart and to bring up your 200-period moving average line on this chart as well to see what the overall activity of this currency pair has been over the past weeks and months. With this knowledge you will know what type of market conditions you are dealing with and whether you should trade an open position or stay out of the market.

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Forex Trading Vs. Options – Discover The Difference

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Forex Trading, also known as FX Trading or by many as the Foreign Currency Exchange, is a financial market where a person can trade national currencies in order to try and make a profit. Perhaps one feels the U.S. Dollar will get stronger compared to the British Pound or the Euro. A strategy can be developed to affect this trade and if the research is correct, a good profit can be made.

Options Trading allows you to buy or sell options on large amounts of stock, futures etc. that you feel will either go up or down in price over a certain period of time. As with Forex Trading, you can leverage your buying power to control more stock or futures for instance, than you could have normally. However, there are differences between Forex and Options Trading. Many of the differences are described below.

24 Hour Trading:

An advantage you have with the Forex Currency Trading System (Forex) as compared to Options trading is your ability to trade 24 hours a day, five days a week if you wish. The Forex Market is open longer than any other market. If your goal is to make double digit gains in a market, it is great to have unlimited time each week to make those trades. Whenever some big event happens around the world, you can be one of the first to take advantage of the situation with Forex Trading. You won’t have to wait for a market to open in the morning like you would if you were trading Options. You can trade from your computer instantaneously, all hours of the day and night.

Rapid Trade Execution:

When you use the Forex Currency Trading System, you receive immediate trade executions. There is no delay like there can be in Options or for that matter other markets as well. And your order gets filled at the best possible price instead of guessing which price your order might get filled. Your order certainly won’t “slip” like it can with Options. In Forex Trading, there is a lot more liquidity to help with “slippage” than there is in Options Trading.

Liquidity:

Forex Trading has the advantage of being more liquid than any other market, including Options Trading. With the average daily volume in the Forex Market reaching close to 2 Trillion, there is no comparison. The liquidity in Foreign Currency Trading (Forex) far surpasses that in the Options Market. This means when it comes time to trade, Forex Trades will be filled much easier than Options trades will. This speed means more potential profit. Couple this with instantaneous trade execution in Forex Trading, and you have the ability to make a lot of trades quickly.

No Commissions:

Forex or FX Trading is Commission Free because it is an inter-bank market which matches buyers with sellers in an instant. There are no middleman brokerage fees as with other markets. There is a spread between the bid and ask price and this is where Forex trading firms make some of their profit. This means you can save money when you trade Forex compared to Options trading where there are commissions since you would be working with a brokerage firm.

Greater Leverage:

Online Forex Trading can give you much greater leverage than playing Options. However, with Options, you can also manage putt and call options in a way to greatly increase your leverage. Leverage can be very important when you know what a currency is going to do. You can achieve 200:1 or greater in Forex Trades compared to less typically in Options, but it can be close. This means with Forex, there can be substantially more potential profit if you make the right move.

Limited Risk is Guaranteed:

Since Forex Traders must have position limits, the risk is limited since the online capabilities of the Forex Trading system automatically initiate a margin call when the margin amount is greater than the value of the account in dollars. This keeps a Forex Trader from losing too much if their position goes the other way. It is a good safety feature that is not always available in other financial markets. And the Forex is different than Options in that with Options, you only have a certain period of time to trade before the options expire.

When considering the differences between Forex Trading and Options, just keep in mind your preferred trading style and the type of risk you are willing to take. There are definite advantages to Forex or FX Trading that may allow you to profit greatly if you develop a good system and stay within your trading limits. If you are ready to go, then begin investigating a good Forex firm with whom to open a Foreign Exchange Trading Account.

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Profitable Forex Trading Strategies

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By far regarded as the largest and the busiest market, the Forex market has tremendous profit potential. The Forex currency market is a lot different from the stock market and you need to have a very good understanding about the way this market functions. Its not surprising that there’s a lot being said and written about Forex currency trading. In fact, those who are keen on mastering Forex trading skills can actually take up a Forex trading course and get formal Forex education. Before you set out to trade in the Forex market or the Foreign Currency Exchange Market, you must make sure that you have done plenty of research, studied historical trends, analyzed existing trends, and worked out profitable Forex trading strategies that can boost your Forex trade.

There is no standard strategy that can be safely applied when it comes to Forex currency trading. Basically, what may work for one may not necessarily fit your trading needs and you must therefore devise your own strategies that can guarantee success in the long run. You need to first analyze the market using a technical analysis approach or the fundamental analysis approach to plan your moves. While technical analysis refers to forecasting future movement based on past performance, fundamental analysis refers to studying current accounts and impact of imports and exports on currency flow.

Understanding how volatile this market is, every experienced trader understands that it is not practically possible to generate profits from every trade. However, as you study this market closely, you will be able to work out better strategies that can minimize your risk levels.

Use surplus money for trading

This market is speculative and “timing a trade’ is crucial. Even a slightest mistake can cost you a lot of money. So, make sure that you use only surplus money in order to save yourself from financial wreck. One of the biggest mistakes many traders do is staking all their money in a single trade. If you are not sure, go for margin trading to enjoy more leverage.

Do some market research

Consult your financial advisor or a Forex broker who can tell you the exact status of the Forex market. You need to understand whether current trend is upwards or downwards, is it strong or weak, and how long has this trend been going on or is a new trend in the making. A trade without prior market research can lead to financial disasters.

Decide the time frame for trading

As a smart Forex trader, you must have a time frame in mind beyond which you wont like to trade and also decide an approximate exit price. This gives you a proper perspective and helps you to plan your Forex trade more efficiently. You need to therefore decide whether you would like to go for long term trading or intra-day trading. This will help you to determine which approach you must adopt for research and analysis. For instance, for someone trading several times a day, a daily graph analysis will be useless and the trader will require thirty minute or hour graphs to plan his exit. Another important factor that you need to take into account is the time periods when different financial companies enter and exit the foreign exchange market in order to study the market trends.

Choosing the right time to trade Timing is everything when it comes to Forex trading and once you have understood the market trends you need to immediately plan an entry. Rely on technical analysis to time your move and predict market movements.

If you are not sure about which Forex trading strategy to use, find a good Forex broker who can handle your financial portfolio for you

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Forex Technical Analysis – Using Forex Charts for Bigger Profits Part 1

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Here we are going to give an introduction to using forex technical analysis and using forex charts for bigger profits. Forex technical analysis if done correctly is the best and most time efficient way of seeking profits and should be considered as part of any forex trading strategy.

The first point to keep in mind is:

Forex technical analysis is a game of odds not of certainties, so forget about predicting with scientific accuracy, no one can achieve that – but if you understand the following equation, you can make big forex profits:

Fundamentals + Investor Psychology = Price

It is a fact that the fundamentals have an influence on price – all investors have the facts at their disposal but they see them in their own way and this mass of millions of people determines forex prices.

Investor psychology

Human psychology is constant and never changes.

Traders will always be influenced by emotion and these emotions of greed and fear, will push prices to far away from fair value and these price spikes are easy to see on forex charts.

The important point to keep in mind is that investor psychology repeats – and so do chart patterns.

Seeing the Whole Picture

Another very important point to keep in mind with forex technical analysis is that it studies the fundamentals.

All it does is simply assume that in today’s world of instant communications, they show up straight way in price action.

Studying forex charts however does something more:

It studies how investors perceive the fundamentals.

Its is not enough to simply look at the facts, as we all draw our own conclusions from what we see and emotions ensure that investors don’t act logically – they push prices to far ( either up or down) based upon their emotions.

Studying forex charts gives you the whole picture – it reflects the fundamentals and more importantly, how investors perceive them.

When using forex charts you don’t care how and why prices move, you simply look at the reality of price and try and make profits from the moves.

It sounds simple as a concept and it is – but it’s extremely powerful and if you incorporate it in your forex trading system, you can make big profits by trading when the odds are on your side.

Forex Technical Analysis Is Time Efficient

Using forex technical analysis is time efficient, you are studying price and don’t need to make assumptions of where they may go based upon the news – you can see the price as it is and simply trade the truth.

Many traders continually look at news and try and trade off it – but this is hard – the fundamentals are discounted instantly and you have very little chance of winning. Furthermore, if you look at the opinion of others your emotions get involved and any trader who lets emotions dictate their forex trading strategy, is destined to lose

Trading forex charts lets you see the reality as it is – no opinions or guessing and that gives you a huge advantage when trading for profits.

Forex Charting is An Art

Of course, all people use forex charts in different ways and it’s an art not a science.

It is similar to being a ships captain – use your charts correctly and you can get from A – B safely and earn a living; use your charts in the wrong way and you will hit the rocks and drown.

There are many myths perpetrated about using forex charts and if fall victim to them and you will lose.

The good news is anyone can become a successful forex chartist and if you follow basic rules, you can trade with the odds on your side and execute your forex trading signals correctly and win.

In part 2 of this article on forex technical analysis, we will look at basics points to incorporate into your forex trading plan, to be successful and look at common myths regarding forex charts you need to avoid.

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Free Online Forex Trading Course

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To attract more Forex trading customers, most Forex dealers offer free real-time quotes, charts, and online order entry platforms on their websites. They may also provide demo accounts to practice trading with free real-time quotes which, one might say, is rather like getting a free online Forex trading course.

If you are new to Forex trading, it should not hurt to try a free online Forex trading course. Forex trading is sometimes perceived as easy to get into, probably too easy. If you have the money, a brokerage firm will open an account for you.

But though easy to get into, Forex trading is not easy. For one, you need to draw up a trading plan to guide you; but few brokers will sit down with you to develop such a plan. To get a feel for trading as you develop your trading plan, you could check out a free online Forex trading course and learn from the insights and exercises in it.

One insight you can get from the free online Forex trading course is that there are differences among Forex traders. There are many who approach Forex trading with a gambler’s attitude, while others are more circumspect speculators. The free online Forex trading course will probably show you what makes them different.

You would find out that speculation is engaging in a risky business transaction on the chance of generating profits. Speculation is not gambling, and your free online Forex trading course will warn you against the latter. Gambling generally involves pure chance and blind luck.

Forex trading is based on the currencies of countries with real issues of trade flows, surpluses or deficits, changes in interest rates, and economic stability. A free online Forex trading course will explain that Forex speculators must strategise carefully, research thoroughly, and plan realistically if they ever hope to understand what is happening on such large macroeconomic dimensions.
That is fundamental analysis, though, and you probably will not get as much instruction about it in a free online Forex trading course. What you will have plenty of will be technical analysis and techniques of using the charts to guide your Forex trading decisions. Still, your free online Forex trading course can teach you to strategize and plan based on the charts.

If you as a small speculator are not careful, you can get caught in a perpetual cycle of losing. For instance, you may read something in the newspaper that looks like a sure-fire trade. You might then hype yourself up about how much money can be made from the trade, and proceed to execute it without any strategy, research, or planning. That would surely be unwise.

Look at the trading plan that you developed with the assistance of the free online Forex trading course. Surely the free online Forex trading course advised you to make a well thought-out trading plan. It need not be more than two pages or so, but it will be your most vital navigational map in the tricky waters of Forex trading. It will tell you how much you are willing to lose on a trade; it should tell you when to enter a trade, when to exit a trade, and show you how you can protect your profits.

As you keep practicing the simulations on the free online Forex trading course, you will feel more confident about Forex trading. And always remember to submit yourself to the discipline of your trading plan. In Forex trading, the cliché is that you ride your profits and cut your losses. Your free online Forex trading course will show you that a trading plan brings that cliché to life.