Sunday, February 13, 2011

Forex & Currency Trading

Forex & currency trading is a skill. And just like any other skills you acquire skills demand learning. In this post I will discuss how do you learn to trade currencies correctly. In short the correct way is by controlled trial and error.

There is a lot of good literature out on the web discussing various forex currency trading methods. However, each and every one of those methods is specific to its own approach: meaning to say, it's built around a certain logic. Now, logic is the fundamental cornerstone of forex trading, but, logic is only useful when it relays on things you can and cannot perform.

In the foreign exchange market the only things that matter are: what a trader can and cannot do! Or in other words which logic he can or cannot follow.

The above translates into the following: If a trader is timid and rational by nature, he or she will most likely feel better conforming to a long term and gradual investment in forex & currency trading. However, if a person is slightly more impatient he or she would most likely feel better conforming to a short term investment (such as scalping) where rewards come more frequently.

The point of the matter is: pick the forex trading method that is right for your own personality!

Then, follow the logic of your selected method and do not stray from it!

See if this method works out for you. If it doesn't, change it to another currency trading method, and test that method out. However, always stay within the confounds of your personality and the logic that is best suited for it (If you try to act not as who you are, you will eventually fall).

Forex & Currency Trading Resources
As mentioned above, there are many good sources to learn about forex & currency trading online. Is this section of my post I will try and give you some basic and useful resources to help you along your way.

The basics
It is not a shame, on the contrary, to start at the beginning. Here's a great resource of learning what foreign exchange is all about. It will give you a basic but insightful look into the foreign exchange market and currency trading in general.

From there you can proceed to this great resource which gives and example of a trend trading strategy from 2010.

A few tips:
Here are a few forex tips which will help you in deciding how to pick out your currency trading strategy:

If you are an immediate gratification type of individual you might consider testing out these forex trading strategies:
  •  Scalping
  • Day Trading
However, if you are a more conservative forex trader you might like to take a look at these strategies:
  • Trend Trading
  • Carry trade
  • Swing trading
Remember, it is paramount that you feel right with the type of trading strategy you choose. That is the only option which will allow you to pave the way to becoming a successful forex trader. Once you find the way you are built to trade you can adjust yourself to any strategy which works best for you.

That is the only way to make your forex & currency trading experience a successful one.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Forex Trading - EUR/AUD Market Watch 1/19/2011

Here's my forex trading market watch analysis for January 19th 2011. It's a total beginners analysis so don't expect much. However, I will be trying to evaluate today's day trading of the EUR/AUD currency pair on a bit of technical analysis I've researched.

EUR/AUD Technical Analysis

The EUR/AUD is continuing it's formidable recovery from last month's low. While starting today's trading at 1.34081 it is now trading for 1.34431 with a slight drop at the beginning of the day as illustrated by the following chart (taken from MT4 demo):


Now, the two red lines there represent the resistance line (the top red line) and the support line (the bottom red line). And while this 5 minute chart does show a relative drop in price at the start of the day you must notice that the market has already breached the resistance line twice today on its way up.

So, with a bit of hindsight, I want to show you some previous support and resistance lines I've created for the EUR/AUD at the end of December 2010. I decided to draw these lines after viewing the EUR/AUD pair forex trading results, based on a monthly chart view.


Please notice the top red resistance line and the middle red support line. I have decided to place these lines there because of the nine bearish Japanese candles that appear there (representing 9 consecutive days of market fall). The bottom red support line was placed on December 29th when the second significant bullish indicator appeared after the long fall. It was placed at 1.30014 price rate.

To my surprise and to my dismay and disappointment I did not establish a long position of any kind at that time.

Looking today at that third bottom support line I'm left only to dwell on the idea that maybe, by a bizarre fluke of chance, I have discovered the lowest support line for the EUR/AUD in Years. To support my claims I take you back with a monthly chart  of the EUR/AUD from today to the beginning of 2005.


Will today's EUR/AUD continue to climb? Will it climb back to its average trend line of past years from 2005-2008 with a trading average between 1.52590 to 1.72895 or are these speculations a bit over the top?

We can only sit back and learn as we continue to explore the wonderful world of forex trading.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Forex Enthusiasts - Hello!

Forex, or Foreign Exchange is where it's at. Hi, I'm Jeff Harvey and I'm a novice Forex enthusiast. I've been facinated by the FX market for sometime now and have decided to set up my own forex blog in order to share my ideas, insights and learning process.

With the help of the online world and other financial analysts I am determined to become a great Forex trader and make lots of money.


Why Forex?

They say Forex is the largest financial market in the world. With over $4 trillion traded every day. It is accessible easily through the internet, and you can trade by yourself directly without the assistance of another broker or agent. Stop me if I'm wrong about anything I've mentioned so far (I want to know what you think and if I'm not veering from the right path).

Now I like money, who doesn't, and I've also heard that in the FX market there's no advantage by any trader over another due to the accessibility of information. What that means is that the world's economies are so big, and diverse, that there's no room for inside information tilting the market one way or the other. No country can inject a big enough sum of cash to effect the market in it's benefit.

So no trader has an advantage over me. I can make a buy deal on the EUR/USD and be as smart as the other trader because we are subjected to the same news and information we all hear on the internet from finanacial reports and banks.

Now I'm no expert, but I'm a pretty educated guy, so I do believe that if the above is true, all that's required is just a little bit of hard studying and then successes will follow.

Why should I be afraid to tackle an investment market that has no leverage over me?

So here's my plan:
  • Learn the best forex trading methods and strategies
  • Learn where to get the best FX information
  • Start trading using the best foreign exchange trading platforms available.
By following these three simple steps I do believe that I can become a good Forex trader. Follow me on my adventure each week and please help me as much as you can, because Lord knows I need as much of it as possible.