Using Currency Trading Charts To Forecast Price Movements

Using Currency Trading Charts To Forecast Price Movements
Currency trading charts and the various indicators that come with them are the tools used by nearly every trader in forex And it can be the skill with which you use these tools that can determine whether you ever get to be successful, so let’s have a quick survey of them . .Before we do, bear in mind that there are only three pieces of information you’re looking for from any indicator or chart You want to know whether the price is going to move more than a few points if so, whether it is likely to move upwards or downwards whether there is likely to be any volatility, or movement in the opposite direction, of more than a limited number of points before your target is reached . . .1 Bollinger Bands . .These are two lines drawn on the chart to show you the volatility of the market Very similar to support and resistance levels, they show you at a glance whether the price has strayed upwards or downwards too much, bearing in mind where it should be according to the normal rules of the marketplace So if the price has broken through one of the lines then it is a sign that it will shortly retrace back into the space between the two The lines themselves can and do move up and down roughly reflecting the actual price movements so this means the retracement may not always be by the same number of points as the original movement . .If the price has stayed between the two lines for a protracted period, then when it does eventually break through one of them it is often a sign of a strong movement in that direction, and so you can often make a successful trade based on that information . .2 Stochastics . .Stochastics uses the moving average principle to determine whether the market is overbought or oversold The theory is that if the moving average lines are above 70 the market is overbought (which means you should buy) and if they are under 30 the market is oversold (so you should sell, or go short) . .3 Parabolic Stop And Reversal (SAR) . .This is more of a long term indicator, and is designed to let you know when there is a reversal in trend It is displayed as a series of dots When the price breaks through this line then it is a sign of a definite movement in that direction that you can trade on . .4 Relative Strength Index (RSI) . .This is similar to Stochastics in that it can tell you if a market is overbought or oversold If you use the two indicators together, and they both agree at some point, then it’s a strong indication that the price will reverse The trouble is that it’s usually difficult to tell when exactly the reversal will take place, so if you trade on such information using a spread betting account then you should use a large stop loss if you can afford it . .5 Simple Moving Average (SMA) . .If, for example, you have a 50 period simple moving average setting then it shows you the average price over the previous 50 accounting periods So if it is an hourly chart, i e where each bar, or “candlestick” represents the price movement of one hour, then the SMA shows the average price of the last 50 hours . .You can tell at a glance from this whether the price has been rising or falling over that period This in turn shows you what the current “trend” is If you trade following the “trend”, as many successful traders do, then the SMA is your guide In fact the SMA is probably the only indicator, apart from the chart itself, that you really need It’s certainly the only one that many successful traders use . .It’s normal to use two SMAs, for example a 5 period and a 30 period, if you’re a short term trader, or a 25 period and a 150 period, if you’re a long term trader You then watch out for the shorter period SMA crossing over the longer period SMA, which is often a signal to go long or short, as the case may be The strongest signal is where the current price goes through both the SMAs at a steep angle .