Do Your Forex Analysis Via Forex Charting Techniques

If you engage in Forex trading, you're going to also have to learn how to do Forex charting. Before we talk about Forex charting, let's first talk a little bit about what Forex trading is and how you do it.

Forex trading is done in the Forex market, also known as the foreign exchange market. With the foreign exchange market, you don't trade in stocks or bonds; instead, you trade in what are called currency pairs. That means that you pick one currency from one particular country and determine whether or not it's going to do better or worse against another country's currency.

There are several things you study to determine whether a particular currency is going to do well or not. Chief among these is how well a country is doing, socially, politically and economically. For that, you use something called fundamental analysis.

With technical analysis, though, you read Forex charting that tells you how a particular currency is trending. Is it going up, going down, or staying the same against the other currency in your pair? Has it been doing so for a while, or has it been volatile?

Once you've been trading in Forex enough so that you know the ropes, you can make predictions based upon what your Forex charting tells you. If a currency has been doing well for a while, it's likely that it's going to continue to do well for at least the time being. If it's going down, then it may be time to get out of that particular trade.

When you begin to "trade" in Forex, you should do so at first by establishing something called a "demo" or practice account with the Forex trader you pick. With demo trading, you can do everything the average Forex trader does, only you don't have to use real money. This lets you practice without risking any money until you fully know your way around the Forex market and feel comfortable risking your own money in trades.

That leads us to an important point. With Forex trading, you are absolutely taking a risk when you do trades. It is indeed a very lucrative market for those who know what they're doing, but you still are not guaranteed that you'll make money. For this reason, demo trading also lets you do something very important. It lets you psychologically get used to losing money.

That's an important point as well, because even the most successful Forex traders do lose money sometimes. Absolutely no one wins on every single trade. Because Forex trading does require a cool head, you're going to have to learn to leave your emotions out of the equation. That means if you're winning on the trade, you need to read and analyze charts carefully to determine whether or not you should get out even if the trade is still doing well. By the same token, you should know when to get out of a trade that's losing instead of staying in, in hopes that she'll make the money that you've lost back.

A lot of practice and the proper Forex charting techniques can make you a successful trader, too, as long as you know what you're doing and can handle yourself. Many people have made a successful sideline or even livelihood out of Forex trading, and you may be one of them.

Forex Charting

When learning to read forex charts, remember that there are two basic approaches for online forex trading. They are fundamental analysis and technical analysis. Fundamental analysis doesn't rely on forex charts. It uses both political and economic factors to help determine trades. Charts here are only used as a reference. Technical analysis on the other hand will try to predict where the prices are going by analysis of historical price activity. Those who use technical analysis study the relationship between price and time.

The most traded pair of currencies is the Euro and the US dollar, so we will use them in our example. The dollar is on the right hand side of the chart and the Euro is on the left hand side. The currencies are expressed in relationship to each other in pairing. Forex charges will always display how much of the currency on the right hand side is necessary to buy a unit of the currency on the left hand side. Looking at the chart you will notice the last price displayed on a given date. This number is always highlighted. The time is recorded horizontally across the bottom of a chart and the price scale is displayed vertically along the right hand edge of the chart. The time and the price are often in all caps to help the trader remember that technical analysis is about the relationship between time and price. That is a fundamental rule of this type of relationship.

There are many ways to observe the price and time movement on a chart. These include bars, lines, point and figure, and Japanese candle sticks, the most popular method. With the candlestick method there is a fat, red section that is the body of the candlestick. Lines protrude from the top and bottom and they are the upper and lower wicks. When you look at al the candles on a chart it is clear that bodies can be difference sizes and sometimes there is no body at all. The same is true with wicks. Candle wicks can be of many difference sizes, or there may be no wick at all. The length of the body and the length of the wick are determined by the price range for the candle. Longer candles will have had more price movement during the time that they were open. The top of a candle wick is the highest price for that currency while the wick's bottom is the lowest price. A candle or currency is bullish when the close of the candle is higher than the open. In English this means that there were more buyers than there were sales during the opening time period. Sometimes the candles will not have wicks. The price opened and it dropped off until it closed.

Often the charts are online rather than on paper. By joining a service that provides the charts via the internet a trader is able to stay very current indeed on currency activity. Charts can be checked on a minute to minute basis. For those who primarily do their trading based on historical accuracy this can be a true help. Most forex traders however use a combination of the two approaches. They may chart historical trends, but they will also pay close attention to political, cultural and economic events within a nation. They may also use charts or other methods to check and see if a particular political event as a recent historical parallel that can be checked to determine how the currency behaved in past times. Simply following a system usually is not enough. A trader should also be, somewhat at least, a student of history and of economics. Using all the tools at your disposal will make you a better and stronger forex trader.

Forex charting is not a sure fire method, but they are a tool that can help a trader. Many forex traders use charts on a regular basis. Historical trends do have their place in forex trading as most traders will admit, and using the charts to track historical trends can assist a trader in making a decision today.

Always remember to keep the forecasting/charting/predicting to the experts unless you are doing this as a hobby and don't have much money invested....or as God is my witness you will learn the hard way...

Forex Trader Charts

Traders seeking a robust, yet easy-to use forex charting tool will find FOREXTrader Charts to be a comprehensive technical analysis package. Powered by a third-party composite rate feed, FOREXTrader Charts is fully integrated into both FOREXTrader and FOREXTrader.web.

Some features include:

• Ability to overlay multiple indicators for advanced technical analysis
• Auto trend line & indicator continuation on charts
• Easily save, export, print or email charts
• Customize your charts to your individual preferences, including chart type, colors, intervals and more

FOREX Trader Charts' unique modal candlestick and modal bar, which show the price most heavily transacted for the current bar's time interval.

FOREXTrader Charts' impressive array of of over 18 technical indicators includes simple and exponential Moving Averages, Bollinger Bands, Relative Strength Index (RSI), Parabolic SAR, Stochastics, MACD, GANN Lines, Keltner Channels and Fibonacci studies.

Choose from 11 intervals, including 8 intra-day charts. Intra-day chart types include candlestick, line and bar. Daily, weekly and monthly charts also include additional chart types, such as FOREXTrader Charts' unique modal candlestick and modal bar, which show the price most heavily transacted for the current bar's time interval.

Forex Charting Software Review

There are various good forex charting software available to put to the test.

If you want to try out a free demo account for 30 days, you can do so at various sites. Some sites that have good charting software are for you to try out for free are:

• mgforex.com
• fxinternationalgroup.com
• fxcm.com
  When you’re at their site, go to the relevant areas to open a demo account.
  If you have Wealth Lab, which is a trading software package which has programming capabilities, then you’ll need a forex data feed. There is currently only one available forex data feed that is compatible with Wealth Lab, though this will probably change in the future. The data feed is from:
• forex.datahq.com.au

Check out the features that you’ll need to your forex system when you visit the various forex sites to look at their forex charting software, such as:

1. Whether the charts are “easy on the eye”. If not, can you customise them?
2. Whether the charts load up relatively quickly. Sometimes demos may load up slightly slower than their real accounts, so if you like a charting package but it’s not as quick as expected, just email the provider to ask them.
3. Whether your customised chart layouts can be saved. You can do this on most charting packages.
4. What indicators are available to be plotted, to make sure that you can use the package to trade your system.
5. Whether you can write notes and draw lines properly and where you want to, on the chart. Some systems require you to work out support and resistance, peaks and troughs and other indicators to work out if there’s an entry.
6. As an optional extra, whether the forex charting software has programming capabilities. If there are basic steps of your forex system that can be easily programmed to display on the chart, and you can use their programming language, then this will enable you to more quickly and with less effort trade your system.

So make sure that the charting package can do everything that you need to do to trade your forex system.

If you haven’t already done so, visit the page that will teach you how to read forex charts, and to avoid the mistakes and gaps in knowledge when people are learning how to read them properly.

Forex Charting Software

You wouldn't drive across the country without a map, would you? So why should you waste your personal fortune and not include FOREX Charting Software in your arsenal of profit-making tools? FOREX Charting Software can make the difference between being poised on the edge of a good deal with high-profit potential, or tallying up yet another useless trade with a low margin of take-home profit.

Even good deals, at the time may seem like big winners, but what about over time? Examine your personal trends using FOREX Charting Software, and it can tell you where the steady profit is really coming from.

If you are spending all of your time converting Mexican Pesos into American Dollars, yet you dream of the big kill in exchanging Russian Rubles for Indian Rupees, knowing that somehow there is more profit potential there, than in what you do with your average transactions, you could be right and you could be wrong.

Maybe that big Ruble to Rupee deal may seem like a big score, but when added up against the daily tally of the Peso to Dollar grind, you might find you're doing much better than you think. But how are you going to do this if you are not using FOREX Charting Software?

FOREX Charting Software can show you where you spend your time and money, because let us be honest; you only have so much time and money. Understanding this is the key to understanding the value of FOREX Charting Software. Without FOREX Charting Software you could be wasting untold hours and lost assets on deals that just are not making the cut.

Once you begin using FOREX Charting Software, these problems will show up instantly and when you know the problems is there, my guess is will not be there for long. FOREX Charting Software could make the difference between millions and bankruptcy.

Forex Charting - MTI 4.0 Forex Charting

Forex Charting - MTI 4.0 Forex Charting is a the choice of professional Forex traders. A true multiple time frame analysis software package for professional Forex traders. The Forex charts have the capacity to plot indicators on three different time frames, enabling traders to plainly see what the weekly and daily indicators are showing, compared to their intraday indicators on the same chart, all in real-time.

MTI 4.0 Forex Charting has over 100 indicators and tools, many not available in other forex Charting software Packages.

Forex Charting Package Includes:

• Drawing Tools
• Indicators
• Tick Bars
• Range Bars
• Volumetric Bars
• Multiple Time Frames
• Pivots
• Customizing Your System (MFE & MAE)

The Meaning of FOREX Price Charts and How to Use Them

There is one very important factor that you should consider with great care if you are willing to become a successful, profitable Forex trader. This ever important factor that must be always present in the trader's portfolio, is the ability to read the forex charting.

The beauty of FOREX charts, as opposed to charts used for, say, daytrading stocks, is that they are pretty easy to interpret and use. They're a reflection of a slower-moving, stable economy (the one of a country) compared to the future and daily drama of company reports, Wall street analysts and shareholder demands.

And, unlike stocks, currency charts rarely spend much time in tight trading ranges and have the tendency to develop strong trends (even though the FX market may be volatile, it's more predictable). And, rather than tens of thousands of stocks to analyze, you only have a few mayor currencies to trade.

The most common types of price bars, used in FOREX trading, are the Bar Chart and the Candlestick chart:

Bars Charts - Price bars are a linear representation (a line)of a period of time. This enables the viewer to see a graphic representation summarizing the activity of a specific time frame. For example they can be one minute or five-minute time intervals depending on the system you are using. Each bar has similar characteristics and tells the viewer several important pieces of information. First, the highest point of the bar represents the highest price that was achieved during that time period. The lowest point of the bar represents the lowest price during the same period. Regular bars display a small dot on the left side of the bar which represents the opening price of the period and the small dot on the right side represents the closing price of the period.

Candlesticks - Japanese Candlesticks, or simply Candlesticks as they are now known, are used to represent the same information as Price bars. The only difference is that the difference between the open and close form the body of a box which is displayed with a color inside. A red color means that the close was lower than the open, and the blue color represents that the close was higher than the open. If the box has a line going up from the box it represents the high and is called the wick. If the box has a line going down from the box, it represents the low and is called the tail. Many interpretations can be made from these "candlesticks" and many books have been written on the art of interpreting these bars ( Visit: http://www.1-forex.com).

So, the main thing to keep in mind between the two types of price charts is this:

Candlestick charts are similar to bar charts in that the top tip of a vertical line represents the high and bottom tip represents the low. However, market activity between the OPEN and the CLOSE is represented differently by the use of candlestick bodies.

Because of their colored bodies, candles provide greater visual detail in their chart patterns than bar charts. Which is why many experts recommend you become intimately familiar with Candlestick charts.

Forex Price Charts

There are two kinds of Forex traders - the traders who use fundamental analysis and the traders who use technical analysis. I prefer the technical analysis, which ignores fundamental factors. Technical analysis is applied to the price action of the market. By using technical analysis traders can make short-term forecasts, which are very difficult with fundamental analysis, more suitable to making long-term forecasts.

Technical analysts use different technical studies and interpret them to predict market direction or to generate buy and sell signals. By using charts in Forex technical analysis we can predict price movements.

You might think that reading the charts is very difficult, but you must know that Forex charting, as opposed to charting used for day trading stocks, is easier to interpret and use. The Forex charts are reflection of a country's economy, which is slower moving and is more stable compared to the future and daily drama of company reports, Wall Street analysts and shareholder demands.

Currency charts have also the tendency to develop strong trends, and although the Forex market is volatile, it is more predictable than other markets. The good thing is that you have only a few currencies to analyze, not tens of thousands of stocks.

The complimentary charting software provided by good brokers is sufficient for predicting currencies pair's movements, but you must learn to read the charts and you must learn how to interpret your technical studies.

As I mentioned the technical analysis in the Forex market is easier than in the other markets, but it still might seem a difficult task for new traders. There are a lot of different resources which are helpful in learning technical analysis. The easiest way is watching videos which explain it, and although the Forex video courses are usually expensive, you can find some cheaper video courses, too.

How To Read Forex Charts: 5 Things You Must Know

Learning the basic skills in forex, such as how to read forex charts, is really important.

This is because once you have this vital skill under your belt, it will be a lot easier and quicker when the time comes for you to learn and practice an actual forex trading system.

By the time you finish this article, you'll learn how to read forex charts, as well as know the pitfalls that can occur when reading them, especially if you haven't traded forex before.

Firstly, let's revise the basics of a forex trading as this relates directly to how to reade forex charts.

Each currency pair is always quoted in the same way. For example, the EURUSD currency pair is always as EURUSD, with the EUR being the base currency, and the USD being the terms currency, not the other way round with the USD first. Therefore if the chart of the EURUSD shows that the current price is fluctuating around 1.2155, this means that 1 EURO will buy around 1.2155 US dollars.

And your trade size (face value) is the amount of base currency that you're trading. In this example, if you want to buy 100 000 EURUSD, you're buying 100 000 EUROs.

Now let's have a look at the 5 important steps on how to read a forex chart:

1. If you buy the currency pair, that is, you're long the position, realise that you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go up, to make a profit on the trade. That is, you want the base currency to strengthen against the terms currency.
   On the other hand if you sell the currency pair to short the position, then you're looking for the chart of that currency pair to go down, to make a profit. That is, you want the base currency to weaken against the terms currency.
   Pretty simple so far.
2. Always check the time frame displayed. Many trading systems will use multiple time frames to determine the entry of a trade. For example, a system may use a 4 hour and a 30 minute chart to determine the overall trend of the currency pair by using indicators such as MACD, momentum, or support and resistance lines, and then a 5 minute chart to look for a rise from a temporary dip to determine the actual entry.
   So ensure that the chart you're looking at has the correct time frame for your analysis. The best way to do this is to set up your charts with the correct time frames and indicators on them for the system you're trading, and to save and reuse this layout.
3. On most forex charts, it is the BID price rather than the ask price that's displayed on the chart. Remember that a price is always quoted with a bid and an ask (or offer). For example, the current price of EURUSD may be 1.2055 bid and 1.2058 ask (or offer). When you buy, you buy at the ask, which is the higher of the 2 prices in the spread, and when you sell, you sell at the bid, which is the lower of the two prices.
   If you use the chart price to determine an entry or exit, realise that when you place an order to sell when the chart price is say 1.330, then this is the price that you'll sell at assuming no slippage.
   If on the other hand, you place an order to buy when the chart price is the same price, then you'll actually buy at 1.3333. A forex system will often determine whether your orders will be placed simply according to the chart price or whether you need to add a buffer when buying or selling.
   Also note that on many platforms, when you're placing stop orders (to buy if the price rises above a certain price, or sell when the price falls below a certain price) you can select either “stop if bid” or “stop if offered”.
4. Realise that the times shown on the bottom of forex charts are set to the particular time zone that the forex provider's charts are set to, be it GMT, New York time, or other time zones.
   It's handy to have a world clock available on your computer desktop in order to convert the different time zones. This is important when you're trading major economic announcements.
   You'll need to convert the time of an announcement to your local time, and the chart time, so you'll know when the announcement is going to happen, and therefore when you need to trade.
5. Finally, check whether the times on your forex charts corresponds to when the candle opens or when the candle closes. Your charting software may be different to someone else's in this way.
   The reason I mention this, is that if you need to trade major economic announcements, either by entering a trade based on the movements that happen after the announcement, or to exit a trade before the announcement in avoid getting stopped out during it, then you need to be precise (to the minute!) as these trades are performed according to what happens at the 1 minute immediately after the announcement, not the candle afterwards!
   So there you have it.
   You now have the 5 essential keys to how to properly read forex charts, which will help you to avoid the common mistakes which many forex beginners make when looking at charts, and which will speed up your progress when you're looking at forex charting packages, and forex trading systems that you want to trade!
   Now that you know this, practice looking at forex charts with each of these 5 points in mind.

So get to it!

A Guide to Forex Charts: Forex Forecast Tool or Voodoo?

Forex charts assist the investor by providing a visual representation of exchange rate fluctuations. Many variables affect currency exchange rates, such as interest rates, bank policies, geopolitics, and even the time of day may affect exchange rates.

In order to help the investor attempt to predict when or in what direction a rate may change, advisors provide forex charts. Quality forex websites provide subscribers with a daily newsletter that includes a forex chart, forex signals and a forex forecast.

There are a variety of forex charts available for the investor to use and study. Some are very simple using only a couple of forex signals or indicators and are ideal for beginners. Others include 30 or 40 forex signals or indicators and live on-line streaming data so that the investor may analyze trades quickly and accurately.

In order to make an accurate forex forecast, it would seem that the more indicators, the better, but some analysts prefer a simpler system.

The idea behind studying forex charts is that history repeats itself. Instead of trying to “see the future”, a forex forecast evaluates the past. That is to say that the analyst who is responsible for attempting to predict future currency moves analyzes what happened to an exchange rate yesterday, last week, last month or last year and uses this knowledge to the best degree he knows how.

Some people trade short term, some intermediate term, and some long term. All three types of traders may benefit from the use of forex charts, just adapted to their own trading time frame.

Investors also create their own forex charts to evaluate their own performance. Creating a forex strategy for oneself is the goal of many investors. Instead of looking to a professional to analyze forex signals, these investors choose to create their own forex forecast.

Others, however, create their own strategy but also follow the opinions of professional currency traders at the same time. It all depends on your personal preferences.

There are other forex charts that deal with known correlations between two currency pairs, that is, how they move in relation to each other. Some exchange rates are known to affect other exchange rates, either by moving in the same or the opposite direction depending on the correlation.

Charts are available that explain these correlations in detail and show which pairs have strong correlations or strong negative correlations, so that an investor can use the movement of the exchange rate of one currency as a signal to trade another currency. These correlations are also the basis for some forex forecasts.

It can be difficult and overwhelming to enter the world of forex trading alone. Experts recommend education, practice with a demo account and advice from a reputable broker who is backed by a quality institution. Learning to read forex charts and evaluate forex signals is a skill that comes with time, skills that are essential when an accurate forex forecast is the the goal.