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You are here because you want to know more about how to trade foreign currency. Foreign currency, also known as foreign exchange, or FX as it is most popularly called, is traded on one of many markets collectively called the FX market. Naturally, you want to know how to make money trading FX, but you’ll also want to learn how to avoid losing money while trading FX. This is the key to successfully trading FX – trade smart. You trade smart by doing exactly what you are doing here – learning all that you can about every facet of the FX world.

One of the most important things you can do to save yourself a lot of heartache and heartburn is to learn about the forex brokerage firm that you plan to associate with. Fly-by-nights and Johnny-come-lately FX companies are creating and opening up websites every day. Not all of them are legitimate, unfortunately, and there is little recourse to the investor who unwarily opens and establishes an FX trading account with his hard-earned cash.

A reputable company will be one that has been around for years. It’s important that you read the company’s “about us” page and learn who they are, where they are located, what they stand for, and what their policies are, try to read out source forex brokers reviews and see what other traders think about them. It’s also important to learn what protections and safeguards your account will have. Also consider seeking out the opinions, criticisms and testimonials of other forex traders who have used their services to help you assess the company before you open and fund your trading account.

And speaking of funding, be certain that you know exactly what the brokerage firm requires of you. A disreputable firm may lure you in with a low initial deposit, only they neglected to clearly state that that low initial deposit was below the minimum trade. Be absolutely clear as to the minimum and maximum amounts you need to start your account and start trading with your account.

While it’s absolutely true that experience is the best teacher, it’s equally true that forewarned is forearmed. If you want to trade FX – trade smart!

The forex market is played with keen eyes on algorithms, statistics and ultimately overarching trends; while statistics and algorithms are impersonal and boring, a trend is something much easier to spot for a trained eye. As such we’re going to look at what makes up a forex trading market trend, how they work, where they come from and how to know the different stages that occur. If one were to master this knowledge it would be easy enough to join in a trend when it’s high and duck out as soon as the going gets hairy. Before we get started it’s important to realise exactly what we mean by a forex currency market trend. Simply, a trend is a tendency for value to change negatively or positively over a specific period of time; they can last a long time or a briefly and can fluctuate, depreciate or ‘flatline’. This is important because success in the forex market trade relies on one being able to spot trends and take advantage of the profitable entry point or ideal exit points.

An Example of Trends

Typically a strong economic country will have a strong currency, bar a few exceptions, and economic strength is attractive to potential investors which in turn create demand for the currency. Investors demand security in gold investment as opposed to fiat currencies sometimes, so demand in gold-mining countries, such as Australia and South Africa, increase due to their industries. Knowing when investors are about to demand gold is an example of a good time to be in on the forex market schedule for a rush trend; the trend being a sharp increase in demand for Australian dollars or South African rands; hitting that demand before it happens put you in a good position. That is an example of how to play a trend; followed of course by you selling before demand drops and the trend fades.

Trends Can Dictate Success

There is a current foreign exchange or forex market dispute as to whether one should follow ranges or trends, but while trends are nothing fancy they have shown far more potential for success with skilled forex traders. I won’t get into the pros and cons of either right now, but I will mention that when you can read the forex market online and in the flesh so to speak, when you can spot a trend emerging from a mile away and when you’re so experienced that the forex market opens up to you like a book; that’s when you’ll be in a position to get the most out of your trading experience all thanks to trends.

Eugene Calvini is a writer and forex enthusiast; armed with a forex trading account he enjoys sharing his perspective and hopes to share his knowledge of a forex account with the world.

In this post I’d like to address the question, ‘What is foreign exchange market sentiment?’ This might be useful if you’re thinking about changing currencies, but have heard that sentiment toward the UK pound or euro or whichever currency you’re trading is negative, and want to know what this means.

Foreign exchange sentiment is the general feeling toward a currency at a particular time, among investors on the foreign exchange market. It’s a summation of how the countless millions of investors in foreign exchange feel about one currency at present. Sentiment can become more upbeat or downbeat, depending on what’s influencing that currency on a certain day or month. It can also be used to describe the mood on the foreign exchange market as a whole.

For instance then, when looking at sentiment on the foreign exchange market as a whole, one very common way is to describe the market as either having risk appetite or being risk averse. This tells us whether foreign exchange investors are feeling brave (i.e. there is risk appetite) meaning they’re more likely to invest in small or riskier currencies, or whether they’re being cautious, and hence putting their funds in strong and stable economies believed to be safe (i.e. they’re risk averse.)

Depending on whether there is risk appetite or not, the entire outlook for the foreign exchange market can change. The US dollar for instance tends to strengthen when there is risk aversion (i.e. there’s a big political or economic threat in the world) because the US economy is the backbone of the global system. It’s hence a safe place to put money. The UK pound too tends to benefit in times of risk aversion, because it’s thought stable. On the other hand, currencies in smaller and less stable economies such as New Zealand and Canada (whose prospects are tied to the price of commodities) tend not to benefit when there is risk aversion.

In addition to looking at sentiment on the foreign exchange market as a whole, you can also look at sentiment concerning a specific currency. This tends to reflect not the global outlook, but the factors affecting that particular currency at a certain time. These factors tend to be political or economic. For instance then, if you’re looking at the euro right now, you might say that sentiment is cautious but optimistic, because Greece has just received its second EU bailout. This has cheered investors. On the other hand, cautious remains because Europe is in recession right now. This is reflected in euro weakness.

You should now have a better idea what foreign exchange market sentiment is. If you have any other questions about foreign currency exchange then visit foreign exchange specialists Pure FX. 

Chart patterns are specific price-action patterns in stock prices that have repeated themselves for decades, giving prudent traders many profitable trading opportunities. However, there are many chart patterns that are unreliable and not profitable. In this article we will cover the 3 highest win rate patterns that almost guarantee long-term profitability and gains.

Pattern #1: Head & Shoulders
The Head & Shoulders is one of the most reliable chart patterns, having accuracy of almost 90% and generating profits for decades. The head & shoulders is a reversal pattern, that indicates a shift in trend and beginning of a reversal.

We will usually trade this pattern when the neckline is broken, and will join the trade right at the breakout. However, for even more accurate entry it is recommended to wait for price to pull back to the neckline, and begin the new trend. The pullback entry is even more accurate than the breakout one, reaching around 95% accuracy. This is a chart pattern you must trade and master.

Pattern #2: Double Top
The Double Top is another pattern which you must trade, as it provides very good win rate (around 76% winning trades) and very consistent profits in many stocks and Forex pairs.

The Double Top is created when price tries to break a resistance level twice and is unable to, creating a shape resembling the letter ‘M’. Eventually price breaks the neckline downwards, which is the sell signal for chart traders. We will also enter a short trade if price pulls back to the broken neckline from below.

Pattern #3: The Channel
The Channel is one of the most accurate chart patterns that appears in almost any Stock or index, and are the foundation of trends. The Channel consists of two parallel trend lines in a certain direction – it can be either ascending or descending.

The Channel symbolizes a healthy trend in which price moves forward in a certain rythem. We can trade the channel in several methods: The first one is to take trades on the trend lines themselves (make sure to enter only with the direction of the trend and not against it).

Another trading method that is particularly powerful with channels is to enter after it is broken: entering short when an ascending channel is broken and entering long when a descending channel is broken. For extra accuracy we recommend not to enter the breakout itself but wait for the pullback.

Conclusion
Chart patterns are a very reliable and consistent way of trading, and if you focus just on the 3 patterns mentioned above, you will generate stable profits from any market you trade. Choose one pattern at a time, learn to identify it on historical charts and then proceed to master it in real trading.

If you keep listening to your friends you will keep your day job, keep working for 30 years each and every day and not make serious money and you know why? Because your friends think trading stocks and Forex is nothing but luck and gambling and they can’t be more wrong.

In this article I will share with you a few important tips that will help you make money trading stocks and currencies, so take a pen and a paper and write this down because all the professional traders in the world started using these tips and you should too if you want to make money.

Trade with an amount of money that suits you

At first trading will be difficult and you may lose some money before you get the grasp of it and understand the market and that’s natural. That is why you should trade with an amount of money that suits you as a trader and that means trading with the amount you don’t afraid of losing. I know how it sounds but if you’re afraid of losing you will lose because you will make decisions according to your emotions and not your head and you will lose money, so at first trade with a small amount of money and slowly with time add more money to your trading bankroll.

Always come prepared to any trading day

You should always come prepared prior to any trading day and that means working for 2-3 hours each day searching for stocks and currencies, writing down the entry and exit points of each stock and never leave anything to chance. Only this way you’ll control your bankroll, know exactly how much you’ll profit from a trade and limit your losses to a minimum if the trade was not successful.

Trade with your head and not with your gut

Trading stocks and Forex has nothing to do with luck and we are not gambling here. You read charts, you analyze them, you read news and you know your entry and exit points and with this analytical work plan you make money. If you start trading according to your emotions and gut feelings you may make mistakes and lose money, so always trade smart and don’t let your feelings get involve in your trade but this will come with more trades and experience.

Be patient learn from mistakes and never stop reading charts

If I have one tip to give you in order to succeed in trading is to read as many charts as you can. The more charts you read the more you’ll understand how the market and how the stocks react, you’ll know to anticipate the next move of your stocks and currencies and you’ll have more experience in trading and here it means a lot. Even when you don’t trade keep reading charts, see if you’re right and with time you will master the market and in less than 3-4 years will be able to be a professional trader and believe me this is not a long time as professional traders usually are millionaires because there is a lot of money in the market and with time you will get your piece of it as well.