Currency strength

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Currency strength expresses the value of currency. For economists, it is often calculated as purchasing power,[1] while for financial traders, it can be described as an indicator, reflecting many factors related to the currency; for example, fundamental data, overall economic performance or interest rates.[2] It can also be calculated from currency in relation to other currencies, usually using a pre-defined currency basket. A typical example of this method is the U.S. Dollar Index. The current trend in currency strength indicators is to combine more currency indexes in order to make forex movements easily visible. For the calculation of these kind of indexes, major currencies are usually used because they represent up to 90% of the whole forex market volume.[3]
Contents [hide]
1 Currency strength based trading indicators
1.1 Examples
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
[edit]Currency strength based trading indicators

Currency strength is calculated from the U.S. Dollar Index, which is used as a reference for other currency indexes.[4]
The basic idea behind indicators is "to buy strong currency and to sell weak currency".
If is X/Y currency pair is up trend, you are able to determine whether this happens due to X's strength or Y's weakness.[5]
With these kind of indicators one is able to choose the most valuable pair to trade; see the reactions of each currency on moves in correlated instruments (for example CAD/OIL or AUD/GOLD); look for a strong trend in one currency; and observe most of the forex market in one chart.
[edit]Examples
Typical examples of indicators based on currency strength are relative currency strength and absolute currency strength. Their combination is called the "Forex Flow indicator", because you are able to see the whole currency flow across the forex market.

Multiple Time Frame Analysis

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What the heck is multiple time frame analysis?

Multi-time frame ana... WHAT?! Chill out young padawan, it ain't as complicated as it sounds! You're almost done with high school - now's not the time to get senioritis, although you probably got that way back in Grade 12. Ha!

Multiple time frame analysis is simply the process of looking at the same pair and the same price, but on different time frames.

Remember, a pair exists on several time frames - the daily, the hourly, the 15-minute, heck, even the 1-minute!

This means that different traders can have their different opinions on how a pair is trading and both can be completely correct.

Phoebe may see that EUR/USD is on a downtrend on the 4-hour chart. However, Sam trades on the 5-minute chart and sees that the pair just ranging up and down. And they could both be correct!

As you can see, this poses a problem. Trades sometimes get confused when they look at the 4-hour, see that a sell signal, then they hop on the 1-hour and see price slowly moving up.

What are you supposed to do?

Stick with one time frame, take the signal and completely ignore the other time frame?

Flip a coin to decide whether you should buy or sell?




Luckily for you, we here at BabyPips.com aren't about to let you graduate without knowing how to use multiple time frame analysis to your advantage.

First, we'll try to help you determine which time frame you should focus on. Each trader should trade a specific time frame that fits his or her own personality (more on this later).

Secondly, we'll also teach you how to look at different time frames of the same currency pair to help you make better, more educated trading decisions

Trading Breakouts and Fakeouts

What are breakouts and how can I take advantage of them?


Unlike the breakouts you might have had as a teenager, a breakout in the trading world is a little different!

A breakout occurs when the price "breaks out" (get it?) of some kind of consolidation or trading range.

A breakout can also occur when a specific price level is breached such as support and resistance levels, pivot points, Fibonacci levels, etc.

With breakout trades, the goal is to enter the market right when the price makes a breakout and then continue to ride the trade until volatility dies down.

Volatility, Not Volume



You'll notice that unlike trading stocks or futures, there is no way for you to see the volume of trades made in the forex market.

With stock or future trades, volume is essential for making good breakout trades so not having this data available in the forex leaves us at a disadvantage.

Because of this disadvantage, we have to rely not only on good risk management, but also on certain criteria in order to position ourselves for a good potential breakout.

If there is large price movement within a short amount of time then volatility would be considered high.

On the other hand, if there is relatively little movement in a short period of time then volatility would be considered low.




While it's tempting to get in the market when it is moving faster than a speeding bullet, you will often find yourself more stressed and anxious; making bad decisions as your money goes in and then goes right back out.

This high volatility is what attracts a lot of traders, but it's this same volatility that kills a lot of them as well.

The goal here is to use volatility to your advantage.

Rather than following the herd and trying to jump in when the market is super volatile, it would be better to look currency pairs with volatility that is very low.

This way, you can position yourself and be ready for when a breakout occurs and volatility flies out the roof!

Silky Smooth Moving Averages

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A moving average is simply a way to smooth out price action over time. By "moving average", we mean that you are taking the average closing price of a currency pair for the last 'X' number of periods. On a chart, it would look like this:



Like every indicator, a moving average indicator is used to help us forecast future prices. By looking at the slope of the moving average, you can better determine the potential direction of market prices.

As we said, moving averages smooth out price action.

There are different types of moving averages and each of them has their own level of "smoothness".

Generally, the smoother the moving average, the slower it is to react to the price movement.

The choppier the moving average, the quicker it is to react to the price movement. To make a moving average smoother, you should get the average closing prices over a longer time period.

How You Make Money in Forex

n the forex market, you buy or sell currencies.

Placing a trade in the foreign exchange market is simple: the mechanics of a trade are very similar to those found in other markets (like the stock market), so if you have any experience in trading, you should be able to pick it up pretty quickly.

The object of forex trading is to exchange one currency for another in the expectation that the price will change, so that the currency you bought will increase in value compared to the one you sold.

Example:

Trader's Action EUR USD
You purchase 10,000 euros at the EUR/USD exchange rate of 1.1800 +10,000 -11,800
Two weeks later, you exchange your 10,000 euros back into U.S. dollar at the exchange rate of 1.2500 -10,000 +12,500**
You earn a profit of $700 0 +700
*EUR 10,000 x 1.18 = US $11,800

** EUR 10,000 x 1.25 = US $12,500


An exchange rate is simply the ratio of one currency valued against another currency. For example, the USD/CHF exchange rate indicates how many U.S. dollars can purchase one Swiss franc, or how many Swiss francs you need to buy one U.S. dollar.

How to Read a Forex Quote

Currencies are always quoted in pairs, such as GBP/USD or USD/JPY. The reason they are quoted in pairs is because in every foreign exchange transaction, you are simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. Here is an example of a foreign exchange rate for the British pound versus the U.S. dollar:



The first listed currency to the left of the slash ("/") is known as the base currency (in this example, the British pound), while the second one on the right is called the counter or quote currency (in this example, the U.S. dollar).

When buying, the exchange rate tells you how much you have to pay in units of the quote currency to buy one unit of the base currency. In the example above, you have to pay 1.51258 U.S. dollars to buy 1 British pound.

When selling, the exchange rate tells you how many units of the quote currency you get for selling one unit of the base currency. In the example above, you will receive 1.51258 U.S. dollars when you sell 1 British pound.

The base currency is the "basis" for the buy or the sell. If you buy EUR/USD this simply means that you are buying the base currency and simultaneously selling the quote currency. In caveman talk, "buy EUR, sell USD."

You would buy the pair if you believe the base currency will appreciate (gain value) relative to the quote currency. You would sell the pair if you think the base currency will depreciate (lose value) relative to the quote currency.




Long/Short

First, you should determine whether you want to buy or sell.

If you want to buy (which actually means buy the base currency and sell the quote currency), you want the base currency to rise in value and then you would sell it back at a higher price. In trader's talk, this is called "going long" or taking a "long position." Just remember: long = buy.

If you want to sell (which actually means sell the base currency and buy the quote currency), you want the base currency to fall in value and then you would buy it back at a lower price. This is called "going short" or taking a "short position". Just remember: short = sell.



"I'm long AND short."
Bid/Ask


"How come I keep getting quoted with two prices?"

All forex quotes are quoted with two prices: the bid and ask. For the most part, the bid is lower than the ask price.

The bid is the price at which your broker is willing to buy the base currency in exchange for the quote currency. This means the bid is the best available price at which you (the trader) will sell to the market.

The ask is the price at which your broker will sell the base currency in exchange for the quote currency. This means the ask price is the best available price at which you will buy from the market. Another word for ask is the offer price.

The difference between the bid and the ask price is popularly known as the spread.

On the EUR/USD quote above, the bid price is 1.34568 and the ask price is 1.34588. Look at how this broker makes it so easy for you to trade away your money.

If you want to sell EUR, you click "Sell" and you will sell euros at 1.34568. If you want to buy EUR, you click "Buy" and you will buy euros at 1.34588.

Now let's take a look at some samples.