Forex Technical Analysis

As you probably know, the Forex currency exchange is the world’s largest financial market tipping the financial scale at more than 150 times the size of the New York Stock Exchange.

With the growth and expansion of the Internet, this mega-market has become accessible for individual retail traders all over the world.

But it was not always that way. In fact, for most of its existence since 1971; the Forex currency market was only available to international banks, hedge funds, other giant financial institutions and a few of the world’s richest individuals.

For those with the knowledge and the money to access that market, profit potential was exceptional and, presumably, that was one of the reasons, most trades required a minimum investment account in the million dollar range for any transactions in the currency futures or spot Forex markets – both of which exposed you to unlimited risk.

As an investor, you had to have a high risk threshold and you had to continuously monitor the market. If a trade happened to go against you, you could admittance was restricted for so long. Of course, there was the fact that you had to have a huge bankroll in order to play in the Forex currency exchange game. A few years ago, potentially you could lose your entire investment; plus you might get a margin call that could cost you even more. Back then, your downside risk was a very frightening thing.

But these days everyone, including you, can participate in this huge and potentially profitable market, taking advantage of new investment vehicles that give investors immediate, limited-risk access to the world’s huge currency markets. And that only begins to describe the tremendous advantages of investing in the currency markets. A complete list would be a long one, but here are a half dozen of the best reasons the Forex currency exchange is attracting so many investors.

It works great on a part time basis. Since the Forex market is open 24 hours, there are plenty of trading opportunities every day. No large investor can corner the market and control the forex trading. The forex market is too large and too liquid for that. When one currency depreciates there is always another that goes up. So, unlike any other market, Forex cannot crash. Both rising and falling currencies offer you a profit opportunity. Whether going long or short, if your predictions are correct you will make money. You do not have to have a lot of investment capital. If you use the available high leverage properly, you can make significant profits without having a large trading account. No commission charges are the rule rather than the exception for most Forex brokers. They get paid on the spread which keep your costs down.

The Forex currency exchange market is capitalism in its purest form. It is completely driven by supply and demand. That means that it is the competition among major banks of the world, which sets the prices…and that’s a very good thing!

In this article, we have presented some guidelines to assist you in working your way through the many adverts you see for Forex, FX or foreign currency exchange trading. If you will keep these points in mind, it is likely that you will be able to find a trading system or Forex strategy that meets your individual goals.

By: Jamie Doyle

I’m sure you have heard of the great mathematician Leonardo of Pisa, also known as Leonardo Fibonacci? He was a highly influential Italian who lived almost 800 years ago, so you’re probably wondering what Fibonacci has to do with forex trading, I’ll get to that shortly.

He is most famous for developing the numerical sequence that is widely known as the Fibonacci Numbers or the Fibonacci Sequence (he is also credited with introducing the decimal system in Europe).

The very first number of the sequence is 0 and the second is 1. The sequence develops as each subsequent number is the sum total of the previous two numbers. In mathematics it’s known as a recurrance relation. Below are the first numbers in the sequence:

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181, and so on.

e.g. 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 5 = 8, 5 + 8 = 13 etc.

Leonardo Fibonacci discover that the Fibonacci sequence and their ratios could be found everywhere throughout the natural world, existing in the most unlikely places, almost as universal rule.

So how does Fibonacci and forex trading go hand in hand?

The Fibonacci numbers are important for charting, spotting patterns and indicators in the forex markets, and are used as an important method of analysis

Why?

When you analyse the currency markets carefully, you often find the same ratios as those in the Fibonacci number sequence. You’ll also find them in investments such as stocks.

The main three numbers you need to be aware of, and ideally should commit to memory are 0.618, 0.500 and 0.382. There are other numbers, but for starters these are the big 3 and most important.

So what are they used for?

The Fibonacci numbers are used by forex traders to calculate what are known are retracement levels, which are used to determine when to place buy orders or sell orders. It works like this:

If a currency pair is trending upward lets assume, then history will tell us then at some point it’s going to hit a peak and go into at least a temporary decline or reversal, and then resume the upward trend. When it starts the reversal, that’s where the Fibonacci numbers come into play.

The prices of the currency pair that are following the upward trend is usually predicted to reverse/decline backwards to one of the key Fibonacci numbers, and then bounce back again to follow the upward trend. The key is to forecast this point accurately so that you can buy in before the trend continues upward, so that you capitalise on the reversal and then profit.

You should have a charting mechanism built into your online trading platform which will chart the Fibonacci numbers. Your retracement levels should be automatically mapped on your chart when you simply draw a line up from the low point to the high point.

Obviously there are other things to take into account, it’s not as simple as just buying into a trade when the price hits a Fibonacci number.

For a start you never know which retracement level the price will drop to and stop at. If you opted for 0.382 and the price ended up dropping to 0.618, you’ve just lost a whole load of pips.

Conversely, if you buy in at the wrong high or low points, the retracement levels are going to be completely out of sync.

It can be problematic. They sometimes don’t work at all. The forex market is such a dynamic complex system with so many variables at play it would be foolish to rely solely on one method to predict price changes.

Moral of the story?

Find a trading system or strategy that incorporates as many elements and variables as possible, do lots of research, data mining and plenty of good old hard work.

By: Justen Robert Case

For people wanting to be successful in the foreign currency markets, having a proper analysis is one of the more important things that needs to be accomplished. This is very effective in determining which currencies to sell and buy, and despite recent advancements in technology, traders that are able to analyze the data are going to be much more prepared for success, to do this many are turning to Forex analysis software.

There are a few ways that are used to break down market data as well as analyzing it, these can offer ways to effectively learn how to enter or leave the market at the right time. Because of different fluctuations which take place during the day, the automated software will know exactly when to conduct the right trade.

For beginners, one of the best ways to learn the profession is to utilize practice accounts. There are many different programs and other software that will simulate transactions, using these is going to eliminate all the risk for users who are new.

There are a variety of Forex tools that are being sold today, one of the biggest differences is going to be how aggressive they are when trading. Some are far more conservative, others are going to trade much more aggressively. The big advantage for all of these is that it will free up your time as opposed to doing it on a manual basis.

If you have ever thought about investing in these software programs, there are a few things you might want to inquire about. You want to make sure that the company is providing good support for customers, as well as appropriate training videos and other manuals. Additionally, try and find testimonials from past customers who have actually used the program and have profited from it.

Most of these vendors will give a full money back offer if it does not work as advertised, some also provide support forms to help those in need learn from others and share different ideas. This is very important for people who are just starting out as it is always good to have interaction with other users that are more experienced and can provide additional information.

This is definitely a software which can be very profitable to use, there have been many people in the past few have earned a big profit by utilizing it. Also, even the most inexperienced beginner can earn income when it’s used and is one of the better tools ever offered. I personally made more than 8 times on my money using a Forex automated trading robot and would highly recommend it.

By: William Barnes

Fundamental analysis of the currency for many people is the bread and butter of successful forex trading. There is no doubt that there is a lot of truth in the statement that the currency markets are primarily driven by changes underlying the economies of the world. That is why so many professional traders ensure that their information is based on the best and latest information available. The question of whether someone needs to be an expert in fundamental analysis in order to be a highly profitable home forex trader is debateable.

So what is fundamental analysis? In its simplest form is a review of all the real economic data, political decision, national and international events that have the possibility of impacting on the perceived collective awareness of the forex market that in turn will potentially drive currency movements.

It is vital to understand the enormous volume of information that comprises fundamental data. Many of the financial institutions have departments dealing with analysis, teams of strategists and economists who do their best to try to foresee market movements. And the frightening thing is that with the availability of information over the internet, every home trader also has access to that information. The sheer volume of information for many traders is overwhelming.

When I first started to look at forex trading as part of my part-time home business, I bought into the statement that I needed to understand how the markets work, the impact of all the various drivers. I could see that the task was enormous and i likened it to standing on a station platform, stretching our your hand and grabbing onto a high-speed train. The consequences can be disastrous!

So then I thought, well if the object of my analysis is large how do I tackle? As someone once said, how do you eat an elephant? The answer is one bite at a time. Now that is all well and good, until I realised that the currency market is more like the size of a prehistoric 100 ton huge dinosaur than an elephant. I have by profession been very open to the concept of analysing information prior to decision-making. Unfortunately with the scale of information, I quickly became a victim of “analysis paralysis.”

If you are starting in forex trading, have your normal 9 to five job the time available to you is very limited. I found that by the time I factored in the time travelling to and from work that only left me three hours a day during the week for my research and analysis. I quickly came to the conclusion that despite some of the advice given, for me and many others another approach had to be taken.

Thank goodness for the internet. There are a number of sites now providing free information on the times of all the key economic announcements across the world. Some provide basic data i.e. interest rate announcement in the US at 9am Eastern Time. Others will provide details of past announcements and their impact on a currency as well as a forecast for what the announcement maybe.

The home forex trader will need to gain is an understanding of the impact an announcement may have on the market. If there is one thing a market does not like, it is unexpected announcements. Very often markets will move in anticipation of an announcement, If the announcement is not in line with the anticipated result the market will move.

I personally do not see the possibility of a home forex trader being able to compete with the financial institutions. However, that is not as bad as it seems. I would suggest that a trader needs to understand that when these announcements are made, that they have a potential to move. How much is not something that can be ascertained, so why be concerned about it?

Fundamental analysis therefore is an important tool to have in ones armoury, however, those running a home forex business, do not need to become an expert in this area. For me personally, the day when I learnt that there are alternative ways of being highly successful as a forex trader without being an expert in fundamental analysis, I felt an enormous weight lift of my shoulders.

By: Kaz Kowalski

News is what moves the markets! Do you know what sort of news is important forex news? The truth is that no one will ever know how the market will react to any piece of information. We trade by guessing; of course to make ourselves feel better we call it analysis and prediction. Let’s face it folks, the important news of Forex is really a lot of guess work. There are patterns of course, but if we are so stuck on patterns then shouldn’t you be looking at technical analysis instead? After all technical analysts are the ones that believe that history will always repeat itself.

I want to be totally upfront with you people. The reason that the news is traded is because people believe and fear. You see this very plainly in smaller markets like the local stocks markets. One piece of rumor can send shock waves through the market and potentially wipe away millions in seconds. In the currency markets this is not so prevalent. I am not saying that the news do not affect the movements of currencies, they do but it is only for a short moment. If you have been trading long enough and kept your eyes on the news break, you will realize that there is just so much “noise” in the markets daily. If you jump at all the smallest sounds…well you will be doing a lot of exercise then.

The only important news that really have impact in the currency pairs must be news that directly influence the economy. For example for the USD it would be the non farm payroll report. If it comes out and it shows that there has been a rise in the unemployment rate, well you can be sure that it would lead to shocks for the USD.

The important forex news can change the direction of a trend if there are a series of “bad” news or “good” news that come in one after another. For example, lets say the US reserve declares an interest cut and then the non farm payroll shows that there is growth in the economy and we end if the day if a last report that tells of US economic growth. What do you think the USD will be doing? Where do you think the USD will be headed?

These reports can and will affect the long term trend of the currency. That is the power of news. For scalpers, the news also plays a part. Unfortunately as the time frame decreases the risks increases. The reason is that the trader can only see what is in front and cannot see the larger picture. You may be trading against the larger trend for all you know!

My candid advice is to stay away from news trading unless you have a lot of money to burn. All trading plans should come together with technical and price action justifications to complete it. A sole focus on just one aspect is a ticket to failure.

By: Joshua Geralds