Sunday, January 11, 2009

CURRENCY TRADING BASİCS: 10 Mistakes You Must Avoid to Win at Forex

Here we are going to give you some currency basics and this involves 10 essential tips you must do and 10 tips on common mistakes which you must avoid to enjoy long term currency trading success.

Let's start with 10 common errors you just avoid.

1. Don't Day Trade

It doesn't work because short term volatility is random and prices can and do vary anywhere in a day and you have the odds firmly against you and will lose longer term.

Ever seen a day trader with a long term track record of success? No neither have I, so avoid it and trade longer term trends where you can get the odds on your side.

2. Don't Try and Predict

Predicting is simply hoping and guessing and won't get you far - trade the reality of price change. No one knows the future and your predictions will end up as accurate as your horoscope!

3. Don't use Science

Don't believe anyone who tells you markets move to a scientific formula they don't - if they did we would all know the price in advance and there would be no market.

Trading is a game of odds - not certainties, but you can win if you know and trade the odds. You won't win every trade but over the longer term you can pile up huge FX profits.

4. Don't Trade Scared Money

If you can't afford to lose stay away, forex markets are extremely risky and if you are worried about losing your discipline will break down and you will lose

5. Don't follow a guru blindly

To follow a forex trading system you must have confidence in it and know how it works or you won't be able to follow it with discipline - if you can't follow it with discipline you have no system at all.

6. Don't believe experts

News stories are convincing - but that's all they are stories from journalists and they are normally dead wrong about every major market turning point. Don't believe everything you read!

7. Don't buy low and sell high

Great theory - doesn't work, it means you must predict again where highs or lows will form.

The fact is most major market moves start from new market highs NOT market lows. Learn to buy these breaks as the odds are in your favor and you normally see huge trends develop if, the breakout is from a valid resistance level.

8. Don't complicate your trading system

Simple systems work best, as they are more robust in the face of brutal market conditions - over-complicate your forex trading system and it will have too many inputs - which will break.

9. Acquire Knowledge for the sake of it

You will often hear people say "the more knowledge you have, the better" - but in forex trading you need just the right knowledge.

You don't get paid for work rate you get paid for being right and that's it.

10. Don't overtrade

Most novice traders simply over trade and lose.

They think the more often they trade with their forex trading system, the more chance they have of winning or if they are in the market they are bound to catch a major move - dead wrong.

You don't get a reward for trading often, so don't - only trade high odds set ups, be patient and wait for them.

If you want to learn forex trading correctly and get the right forex education, to enjoy forex success these are all errors to avoid. When developing your forex trading strategy keep the above points firmly in mind, these are the basic errors of currency trading and must be avoided if you want to get on the road to regular profits.

The Best Hours for Forex Trading

Forex (foreign exchange) is a highly dynamic market with lots of price oscillations in a single minute, this characteristic of the Forex market allows traders to enter the market many times a day and pull some profit from these number of trades. If you want to find an appreciable number of profitable trades you need to enter the forex market at the best period of time, i.e., when the activity, the volume of transactions, is the highest. More information can be found at http://www.1-forex.com

The main timing characteristics of the Forex market are the following:

* The Forex market is a 24 hour market – It starts from Sunday 5.00 pm EST through Friday 4.00 pm EST. Rollover at 5.00 pm EST

* Forex Trading begins in New Zealand, followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America

* The US & UK account for more than 50% of the market transactions

* Forex Major markets: London, New York, Tokyo

* Nearly two-thirds of New York activity occurs in the morning hours while European markets are open

* Forex Trading activity is heaviest when major markets overlap.

From this timing facts, it is quite visible that at any given time, somebody somewhere in the world is buying and selling currencies. As one forex market closes, another forex market opens. Business hours overlap, and the exchange continues as day becomes night and night becomes day.

The great liquidity of Forex (foreign exchange), combined with a market that's traded 5.5 days a week around the world, offers you an exceptional independence and choices to trade Forex when you want to and not when the market wants you to do it. Trades always develop with relatively the same frequency, regardless of time. As long as the Forex market is open, there is about the same probability that you will find a trade, whenever your look for it.

During each trading day, the total Forex “volume” is determined by the number of markets that are open and the times each of these markets overlap one another.

Forex market volume of transactions remains high during the whole day, but peaks highest when the Asian market (including Australia & New Zealand), the European market and the U.S. market are open simultaneously. And these are forex trading hours you must target in order to find the highest possible amount of profitable trades.

This is the breakdown of OPEN Market Times for your reference:

* New York Market trade times: 8am-4pm EST
* London Market trade times: 2am-12Noon EST
* Great Britain Market trade times: 3am-11am EST
* Tokyo Market trade times: 8pm-4am EST
* Australia Market trade times: 7pm-3am EST

If you pay attention to the last schedule you will notice that there are two times when two of the major markets overlap during trading hours; between 2am and 4am EST (Asian/European) and between 8am to 12pm EST(European/N. American).

So here you have it, if you want to find a great number of profitable trades, focus on the hours when the markets tend to make their biggest moves, i.e., during these big markets overlaps, which therefore, are usually the Best Times to Trade.

Forex Trading Guide: What are the World Time Zones?

GMT, EST, PST, and CET

GMT (also known as UTC or Coordinated Universal Time) is the time along the Prime Meridian (0 degree longitude) which passes through Greenwich, England. It is the standard time used in the field of astronomy, meteorology and other scientific disciplines around the world, and the standard used to reference market data from all countries around the world participating in the world market.

EST or Eastern Standard Time is five(5) hours late of GMT, while PST or Pacific Standard Time is late by eight(8) hours. Hence, if a market data will be coming out in EST, just add five(5) hours to get the time in GMT. To convert PST to GMT, just add eight(8) hours.

CET or Central European Time is one(1) hour ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Note that during summer daylight saving time/summer time is observed, and CEST (Central European Summer Time) is used instead (GMT + 2 Hours).

Daylight Saving Time (DST)

From the last Sunday in October through the last Saturday in March standard time in the United States of America and other European countries is noted as Central Standard Time (CST), (EST), (MST) or (PST). During summer, that is, from the last Sunday in March through the Last Saturday in October, daylight savings time is noted as Central Daylight Time (CDT), (EDT), (MDT) or (PDT) which is one hour added to standard time. So to convert EDT to GMT, just add four(4) hours. Below is a summary of the conversions, this time converting GMT to EST or PST.

FOREX TRADING: Fundamental Analysis & Economic Indicators

Most FOREX traders rely on analysis to make plan their trading strategy. This article will discuss fundamental analysis. The other common form of analysis is technical analysis. After reading this article you should have a better understanding of fundamental analysis and how to use it as part of your FOREX strategy.

Political and economic changes are the basis of fundamental analysis. These can frequently affect currency prices. Traders that take advantage of fundamental analysis will gather their information from a variety of news sources. They are looking for information about unemployment forecasts, political ideologies, economic policies, inflation and growth rates.

Fundamental analysis will provide you with an overview of currency movements and a broad picture of the economic conditions. Most traders then will combine their fundamental analysis with technical analysis to plot actual entrance and exit points as well as confirming the information provided by their fundamental analysis.

Just like most markets the FOREX market is controlled by supply and demand. Many economic factors can affect the supply and demand but the two most critical ones are interest rates and the strength of the economy. The over all strength of the economy is affected by changes in the GDP, trade balances and the amount of foreign investment.

There are many economic indicators released by government and academic sources. These indicators are usually released on a monthly basis but will sometimes be released weekly. These are pretty reliable measures of economic health and are closely followed by all traders.

There are many indicators that are released but some of the most important and commonly followed are : interest rates, international trade, CPI, durable goods orders, PPI, PMI and retail orders.

Interest Rates - can cause a currency to either strengthen or weaken depending on the direction of movement. In some cases high interest rates will attract foreign money, however high interest rates will frequently cause stock market investors to sell of their portfolios. They do this believing that the higher cost of borrowing money will adversely affect many companies. If enough investors sell of their holdings in can cause a downturn in the market and negatively affect the economy.

Which of these two affects will take place depends on many complex factors, but there is usually an agreement among economic observers as to how the current change in interest rates will affect the general economy and the price of the currency.

International Trade - If there is a trade deficit (more items imported than exported) it is usually considered a negative indicator. When there is a trade deficit it means that more money is leaving the country to buy foreign goods than is entering the country and this can have a devaluing effect on the currency. Usually though trade imbalances are already factored into the market consideration. If a country normally operates with a trade deficit then there should not be an affect on the currency price. The currency price will normally only be effected by trade differences when the deficit is greater than the market expected.

The measurement of the cost of living (CPI) and the cost of producing goods (PPI) are a couple of other important indicators. You should also watch the GDP which measures the value of all the goods produced in a country and the M2 Money Supply which measures the total amount of currency for a country.

In the US alone there are 28 major indicators, these can have a strong effect on the financial market and should be closely watched. This information can be found many places on the internet and is provided by many brokers.

Online Forex Trading Can Make You Rich, But Watch Out!

Foreign currency exchange trading (Forex Trading) is creating a lot of buzz in investment circles, because it's making many people very wealthy. Unlike the New York Stock Exchange, the forex trading market is open twenty-four hours a day. You can literally trade from sun up to sun down in the forex market.

The reason why so many people want to learn how to trade forex is because they hear stories about average folks, who have become forex traders, putting some money into a few good trades and making themselves a bundle - we're talking thousands of dollars.

Is this kind of success in currency trading possible for you?

Yes, and no.

Yes, it is absolutely possible for you to learn how to analyze the forex market and pick winning trades. However, this success will not come overnight and will not come without some study and practice on your part.

Was that a buzz kill?

I hope not. It's just a little cold water being splashed in your face. Look, online forex trading can be a little like gambling in Vegas. You've got your cash on hand, you're sitting there at your computer looking at all the forex charts and currencies: dollar, yen, euro, etc.

You're just itching to make some trades and even though you're still green under the gills, you're ready to jump in on that hot tip you got from your fellow forex trading buddy. The rent money's due and you've got bills to pay, but you just know that if you make this one trade - you'll make big bank!

Okay, this is where the excited new forex traders get happy, go all in and then . . . lose lots of money they can't afford.

That's right. While experienced forex traders are making nice profits on that hot tip, the newbies are getting wiped out clean, because they really don't know what they're doing and are betting their hard earned cash based on pure emotions. The first thing you need to learn about trading currencies is that you should NEVER make a trade like a gambler sitting at a roulette table letting it all ride on red.

The best forex traders are the ones that know how to keep their cool.

The best forex traders also learn how to read the forex news and analyze what trades they think are best given certain market conditions. Another golden tip is that you should never invest money that you need to keep a roof over your head, food in the fridge and the lights on at home. People who do this are gamblers and we already know that gamblers lose most of the time.

Successful forex traders have learned to risk no more than 2-3% of their total forex trading account. So, while they may make thousands, these investors have learned how to build on their success. When you have a winning trade, you take that money and invest it again and again.

To be safe, while you are learning how to trade in the forex market, you shouldn't use real money period. You can open a demo forex trading account and make your trades without risking a cent. This way, when you lose, you can study that mistake and try to correct it. While all investors, even successful ones, lose money, you'll be learning how to minimize your losses and increase your winning trades.

Forex Trading Guide - Tips & Tricks To Success

Looking for tips and tricks to succeed on the Forex market? They say that knowledge and wisdom come from experience and I have to generally agree with this statement. As such, I have gleaned a great deal of this wisdom from those that have gone before me in the Forex market. As a result of gleaning this Forex trading wisdom I have compiled a list of tips and tricks to succeed on the Forex market.

1. FOREX TRADING TIP In the Forex market there will always be bullish and bearish market patterns. It is vital that you find the dominant trends of forex. Never fight the trend. Remember the old adage, "The trend is your friend."
2. FOREX TRADING TIP Buy the rumor and sell the news. This is how to beat the Big money which counts on the small forex trader to be naïve and impulsive.
3. FOREX TRADING TIP If a currency is overbought it is time to get out immediately. Do not fight this as it is almost always a losing position.
4. FOREX TRADING TIP If you find yourself wishing, you will eventually find yourself losing. If you do not have a reason to be in a move, then get out.
5. FOREX TRADING TIP If you are having intense relationship stress or are physically sick wait until a better time to trade in the forex market, as emotionally taxing issues WILL have an impact on your trading.
6. FOREX TRADING TIP If you feel the need to get in a move because it is a "golden opportunity that rarely comes along" you are better off not rushing into it. The truth is that there are always going to be great opportunities available. Be patient.

These are just a few but tried and true tips and tricks for gaining an advantage on the Forex market and after all, we can all use an advantage.

Forex Trading: 3 Key Tips For Huge Forex Profits

Here we are going to look at the 3 key points you must consider if you wish to achieve forex trading success. Fail in any of these areas of forex trading and you will lose.

1. Get the Right Forex Trading Education

To make money at forex trading you don't need to work particularly hard - but you do need to get the right knowledge and learn forex trading. Most forex traders don't and fall victim to common forex trading myths. Here is a list of these common forex trading myths, believe any of them and you are guaranteed to lose.

- You can make money with forex day trading

- You can predict forex prices in advance

- You should buy low and sell high to make money

- You can trade off news stories

- You need a complicated forex trading strategy to win

- You can follow a simulated system from a vendor and make money

- Forex trading is easy

Believe any of the above and you can say goodbye to your equity.

If you want to get the right forex education and knowledge you need to spend some time learning the basics of trading forex and developing a strategy you understand, because this leads onto the next vital ingredient for currency trading success:

2. Confidence

Most novice forex traders simply think they can make money following someone else or trading news stories. They have no idea how and why the markets move and when they hit a few losses, they have no confidence in what they're doing and that's the end of their forex career and their equity.

Now let's look at the vital ingredient all traders need to succeed that flows from confidence:

3. Discipline

If you don't have confidence in what you are doing, then you will never have the discipline to sit through a period of losses and wait for winning trades to return.

One of the biggest myths of forex trading is that you can earn a consistent living and a regular monthly income - its rubbish you can't!

Even the best traders will spend weeks or months in periods of drawdown and you will too. Sure, you can make huge gains over the longer term - but they do not spread evenly across the year.

If you don't have the discipline to take short term periods of drawdown and still keep trading, you don't have a forex trading method at all.

If you want to win at forex trading the good news is:

If you work smart, you can learn to trade in just a few weeks.

If you avoid the myths and get the forex trading knowledge, you will be confident in what you are doing. From this understanding and confidence you will achieve discipline. You need the discipline to stay with your forex trading method through short term losses and stay with your system to achieve longer term success.

95% of traders lose and this group simply do not understand that to make big profits, you need to have a simple robust trading system; you have confidence in and the discipline to follow it.

If you understand the above you will be able to put the 3 building blocks of forex trading together and achieve forex trading success - it really is that simple.