Why is Swing Trading in Forex Popular?

Swing trading in forex is a form of quick trading performed by investors aiming to maximize profits and minimize risks by making strategic trades that last from 3 to 30 days. This is a very popular style of trading among investors and day traders across the globe. Swing trading depends on short-term variations in the market, forcing traders to react to the changes in a rapid manner. This form of trading depends more on stress price patterns than actual value.
As a trader, you do not wait for currency prices to hit either high or bottom, but wait for short term fluctuations in the market. Swing trading is highly favored by day traders, rather than by large financial establishments or brokerage houses. Swing trading is most profitable when markets are stable.

Advantages of Swing Trading in Forex
The reason for swing trading in forex being popular is the many advantages it offers over other conventional forms of trading, like buy-and-hold investing and position trading. The returns tend to be higher for an average trader. You can, for instance, trade for a short while and pay your monthly bills. Swing trading is, however, subject to market fluctuations and conditions. Like all forms of trading, swing trading is susceptible to lean phases.
When executed properly, you will experience less risk as compared to other methodologies. Unlike conventional investors whose fortunes are tied to bulls and bears, swing traders are free to exit losing trades and step out. There is an exit strategy for swing traders. Another strategy for a swing trader is to short the market even when the market suffers a slowdown.

Swing traders can have a flexible schedule unlike most day traders. All you need is to do some market research after work, and place new trades the next morning when the markets open. This style of trading offers more attractive returns due to its less labor-intensive requirements. You also need not worry about:

• Scrutinizing financial statements like most investors
• Monitoring market crests and troughs like position traders
• See your profits vaporize before your eyes due to unfavorable market conditions
• Using complicated systems like other traders

Swing trading is popular because of the flexibilities it offers. In short, swing trading gives you the highest returns in the least amount of time.
by Kitz S

Stop Loss?? Why You Should Always Use It in Forex Trading.

Last week I was reviewing a website which has a trading signal program for those investors who prefer to not being involved in confusing market analysis and I respect them because such services normally will bring them more time to do other important things in their daily life. But the interesting thing was the most of signalers did not actually place a stop loss point on their recommendations. Is that so because they know they are right all the time? Or that's because they did not lose half of their trading account in an unexpected slump of 200 hundred points and a single trade by S.A Ghafar.

However, the answer is most of them have something between -1000 to -5000 pips of open trades on their signal board and they actually trapped in desperately while they could cut the losing trades and ran another one instead. Also I should mention that there are some other types of system trading that called "Hedge Fund" and I don't actually want to argue if they are right or wrong. I am definitely talking to day traders who get into challenge with big bear every day.

Sometimes, I don't understand why a trader could be convinced of not having a Stop Loss while we see almost every month an unexpected uncounted impulse (I would call it Best of the Test for whom with less of the rest) in the market.
There is no specific rule as to where you should place the stop loss, so consider the below mentioned tips as the general rules and ask your mentor to fit reliable Stop loss rules just for you and your trading system(If you have one?).

• Many loser traders do place the same stop loss for all the trades they execute without even trying to measure market environment.
• Don't be scared of placing a stop loss while it is for your gain and you must know what your profit objective is.
• Stop Loss should not be too close to the current price while most of the stop loss enemies have ruined their trading accounts already just by using very close ones.
• Stop Loss should not be too far from the point you get into trade while it's better to not placing any Stop Loss rather taking an unreachable, fictional protector.
• Try to not to risk more than the points of your profit goal. Pro traders recommend to only take those trades which have at least 2 points of potential profit per 1 pip of potential lose, but I would say it is completely depends on the money management system that you use, as different money management systems has different recommendations for Risk & Reward.
• Sometimes a trading system does not work if you risk less than recommended %7 to %10 of your total account balance. It means you trade oversize or you just entered the market when everyone else getting out of the market. In this case this is not your fault as it has a clear message for you "don't trade this way anymore and ask an expert to solve the problem".
• If you are convinced enough that you can make up 1 million dollar out of your 10000 dollars account by not using stop losses as you may think you are the one who knows the price will be back on its way to you instead of hitting new highs, well, simply you are wrong.
• Remember, there are no sky limits for the price of any of currencies in FOREX market.
• If you don't like to place a pre defined Stop Loss on your trades, please ask someone to show you how to follow a wining trade by using "Trailing Stop".
• Be sure it is better to have one or two losing trades with 100 points of lose, instead of being desperate with sinking into -1000 pips of dizziness.

How to Define the Best Stop Loss point?
Try these tools to define the most accurate stop loss points easily:

• Use 10 pips over/below the first Parabolic SAR spot(dot) appeared over/below the price candles for Short/Long Trades.
  Note#1: Remember you just can use 10 pips above the parabolic SAR dots as an Stop Loss point when you have a Short trade and Vice Versa.
  Note#2: You realized that the Stop Loss obtained from SAR is too far from the point which you want to enter the market. OK, this means you are about to enter the market very late so better to not do it.
• Use 10 pips over/below the day before yesterday's HIGH and LOW and in the case of the market has moved a lot far, use 10 pips over/below the yesterday HIGH and LOW as a Stop Loss point for your Short/Long trades.
• Use two Moving Averages of 55 EMA and 144 MA. You may place your stop loss just 10 pips below/above one of those two MAs depending on how do you set up the profit/loss game for your Long/Short trades.
  Note#: If you trade on the range market break out be aware of this kind of Stop Loss setting, and it is quite safer to use another way.
• Place the Stop Loss 10 pips over/below Bollinger Bands Upper/Lower band for Short/Long trades.
• If you use Elliot Waves theory to analyze the market:
  # Place the Stop Loss just 10 pips below the lowest point of the Second (2) wave in bullish trend when you LONG on Wave 3.
  # places the Stop Loss 10 pips below the lowest point of the 4th Wave when you go for LONG on 5th Wave.
  # Place the Stop Loss right above/below the top/low of the previous wave when you go for SHORT/LONG based on A-B-C correctional waves.

Notes:

• Aforementioned suggestions are based on 4Hours chart.
• Those ways of defining Stop Loss points has worked for me, but It does not necessarily works for you, so ask your mentor or an expert friend to do evaluate the probability of fitting those suggestions to your trading strategy.
• 10 pips are because sometimes price hit the important support or resistance levels by more than a touch.
• Please don't forget, the Stop Loss issue is not actually a game. It is not even an option for you; it is a "MUST" and will save you when you can do nothing, so refresh your mind in this case.
• Forward your questions right to my email address opportunity4people@ymail.com, I'll try my best to give you the best answer. Good Lock

5 Things You Must Do If You Want To Attain Financial Freedom Through Forex Trading

With the amazing growth of the forex market, you are going to see an astounding amount of traders lose all their money. Unfortunately, they haven't followed the simple steps I have laid out for you. Go through these steps and give yourself the greatest opportunity to achieve your goals by Eddie Yakubovich.

1. Have Faith In Yourself
To reach the level of elite forex trader, you must trust in yourself and your forex trading education. You must be willing to make all your trading decisions, instead of relying on someone else's thoughts or ability (or lack of). Of course, you will prepare yourself fully before every risking any money.

2. Accept Your Learning Curve
Unless you are a veteran trader, you will lose money trading the Forex market. This is a near certainty. I don't say this to talk you out of trading. In fact, quite the opposite. You will be trading against others that fall to this reality day in and day out. You, however, will not risk a dime until you have learned the skills you need to make money trading the forex.

3. Decide What Type of Trader You Are
There are many ways to trade the forex. They range from very active to very patient. You must decide which style suits you best. The best time to learn this about yourself is while you are trading a demo account. There is no need to allow your learning curve to cost you money.

4. Get Educated
Education is the shortest path to elite forex trading. Regardless of your ultimate goals, you will reach them quicker with a great forex trading education. Take some time to review different options before deciding on who to trust with your forex trading education needs. A forex seminar will help shorten your learning curve drastically.

5. Continue to Get Educated
In order to achieve and retain elite forex trading skills, you must constantly be adding to you knowledge base. Your education should never end. In fact, one of the key points to look for in an elite forex trading course is ongoing education. It's nice to have an ongoing relationship with the person/people helping you to achieve your goals.

What separates an elite forex trader from all others is their desire and ability to be independent. Many traders are willing to follow signals, systems, strategies, or anything else you may call them. By taking this approach, however, these traders are only as good as the people they follow.
An elite forex trader will lead. Their decisions will be calculated and analyzed to near perfection. They will make decisions with no hesitation, and handle the growth of their account in a predetermined, intelligent fashion. Take your trading to their level and you will never look back.

Trading Psychology: Mistakes in a Trading Environment

When it comes to trading, one of the most neglected subjects are those dealing with trading psychology. Most traders spend days, months and even years trying to find the right system. But having a system is just part of the game. Don't get us wrong, it is very important to have a system that perfectly suits the trader, but it is as important as having a money management plan, or to understand all psychology barriers that may affect the trader decisions and other issues. In order to succeed in this business, there must be equilibrium between all important aspects of trading by Raul Lope.

In the trading environment, when you lose a trade, what is the first idea that pops up in your mind? It would probably be, "There must be something wrong with my system", or "I knew it, I shouldn't have taken this trade" (even when your system signaled it). But sometimes we need to dig a little deeper in order to see the nature of our mistake, and then work on it accordingly.

When it comes to trading the Forex market as well as other markets, only 5% of traders achieve the ultimate goal: to be consistent in profits. What is interesting though is that there is just a tiny difference between this 5% of traders and the rest of them. The top 5% grow from mistakes; mistakes are a learning experience, they learn an invaluable lesson on every single mistake made. Deep in their minds, a mistake is one more chance to try it harder and do it better the next time, because they know they might not get a chance the next time. And at the end, this tiny difference becomes THE big difference.
Mistakes in the trading environment

Most of us relate a trading mistake to the outcome (in terms of money) of any given trade. The truth is, a mistake has nothing to do with it, mistakes are made when certain guidelines are not followed. When the rules you trade by are violated. Take for instance the following scenarios:
First scenario: The system signals a trade.

1. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money. Experience gained: Its good to follow the system, if I do this consistently the odds will turn in my favor. Confidence is gained in both the trader and the system. Mistake made: None.

2. Signal taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: Negative, lost money. Experience gained: It is impossible to win every single trade, a loosing trade is just part of the business; our raw material, we know we can't get them all right. Even with this lost trade, the trader is proud about himself for following the system. Confidence in the trader is gained. Mistake made: None.

3. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Neutral. Experience gained: Frustration, the trader always seems to get in trades that turned out to be loosing trades and let the profitable trades go away. Confidence is lost in the trader self. Mistake made: Not taking a trade when the system signaled it.

4. Signal not taken and trade turns out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: Neutral. Experience gained: The trader will start to think "hey, I'm better than my system". Even if the trader doesn't think on it consciously, the trader will rationalize on every signal given by the system because deep in his or her mind, his or her "feeling" is more intelligent than the system itself. From this point on, the trader will try to outguess the system. This mistake has catastrophic effects on our confidence to the system. The confidence on the trader turns into overconfidence. Mistake made: Not taking a trade when system signaled it

Second Scenario: System does not signal a trade.

1. No trade is taken Outcome of the trade: Neutral Experience gained: Good discipline, we only need to take trades when the odds are in our favor, just when the system signals it. Confidence gained in both the trader self and the system. Mistake made: None

2. A trade is taken, turns out to be a profitable trade. Outcome of the trade: Positive, made money. Experience gained: This mistake has the most catastrophic effects in the trader self, the system and most importantly in the trader's trading career. You will start to think you need no system, you know better from them all. From this point on, you will start to trade based on what you think. Confidence in the system is totally lost. Confidence in the trader self turns into overconfidence. Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system.

3. A trade is taken, turned out to be a loosing trade. Outcome of the trade: negative, lost money. Experience gained: The trader will rethink his strategy. The next time, the trader will think it twice before getting in a trade when the system does not signal it. The trader will go "Ok, it is better to get in the market when my system signals it, only those trade have a higher probability of success". Confidence is gained in the system. Mistake made: Take a trade when there was no signal from the system
As you can see, there is absolutely no correlation between the outcome of the trade and a mistake. The most catastrophic mistake even has a positive trade outcome, made money, but this could be the beginning of the end of the trader's career. As we have already stated, mistakes must only be related to the violation of rules a trader trades by.

All these mistakes were directly related to the signals given by a system, but the same is applied when getting out of a trade. There are also mistakes related to following a trading plan. For example, risking more money on a given trade than the amount the trader should have risked and many more.
Most mistakes can be avoided by first having a trading plan. A trading plan includes the system: the criteria we use to get in and out the market, the money management plan: how much we will risk on any given trade, and many other points. Secondly, and most important, we need to have the discipline to follow strictly our plan. We created our plan when no trade was placed on, thus no psychology barriers were up front. So, the only thing we are certain about is that if we follow our plan, the decision taken is on our best interests, and in the long run, these decisions will help us have better results. We don't have to worry about isolated events, or trades that could had give us better results at first, but then they could have catastrophic results in our trading career.

How to deal with mistakes

There are many possible ways to properly manage mistakes. We will suggest the one that works better for us.

Step one: Belief change. Every mistake is a learning experience. They all have something valuable to offer. Try to counteract the natural tendency of feeling frustrated and approach mistakes in a positive manner. Instead of yelling to everyone around and feeling disappointed, say to yourself "ok, I did something wrong, what happened? What is it?

Step two: Identify the mistake made. Define the mistake, find out what caused the mistake, and try as hard as you can to effectively see the nature of that mistake. Finding the mistake nature will prevent you from making the same mistake again. More than often you will find the answer where you less expected. Take for instance a trader that doesn't follow the system. The reason behind this could be that the trader is afraid of loosing. But then, why is he or she afraid? It could be that the trader is using a system that does not fit him or her, and finds difficult to follow every signal. In this case, as you can see, the nature of the mistake is not in the surface. You need to try as hard as you can to find the real reason of the given mistake.

Step three: Measure the consequences of the mistake. List the consequences of making that particular mistake, both good and bad. Good consequences are those that make us better traders after dealing with the mistake. Think on all possible reasons you can learn from what happened. For the same example above, what are the consequences of making that mistake? Well, if you don't follow the system, you will gradually loose confidence in it, and this at the end will put you into trades you don't really want to be, and out of trades you should be in.

Step four: Take action. Taking proper action is the last and most important step. In order to learn, you need to change your behavior. Make sure that whatever you do, you become "this-mistake-proof". By taking action we turn every single mistake into a small part of success in our trading career. Continuing with the same example, redefining the system would be the trader's final step. The trader would put a system that perfectly fits him or her, so the trader doesn't find any trouble following it in future signals.
Understanding the fact that the outcome of any trade has nothing to do with a mistake will open your mind to other possibilities, where you will be able to understand the nature of every mistake made. This at the same time will open the doors for your trading career as you work and take proper action on every mistake made.

The process of success is slow, and plenty of times it is attributed to repeated mistakes made and the constant struggle to get past these mistakes, working on them accordingly. How we deal with them will shape our future as a trader, and most importantly as a person.

Money Management Tips For Trading On The Forex

What is Money Management: describes strategies or methods a player uses to avoid losing their bankroll.

Money management in the foreign exchange currency market requires educating yourself in a variety of financial areas. First, a definition of the foreign exchange currency or forex market is called for. The forex market is simply the exchange of the currency of one country for the currency of another. The relative values of various currencies in the world change on a regular basis. Factors such as the stability of the economy of a country, the gross national product, the gross domestic product, inflation, interest rates, and such obvious factors as domestic security and foreign relations come into play. For instance, if a country has an unstable government, is expecting a military takeover, or is about to become involved in a war, then the country's currency may go down in relative value compared to the currency of other countries.

The Forex, or foreign currency exchange, is all about money. Money from all over the world is bought, sold and traded. On the Forex, anyone can buy and sell currency and with possibly come out ahead in the end. When dealing with the foreign currency exchange, it is possible to buy the currency of one country, sell it and make a profit. For example, a broker might buy a Japanese yen when the yen to dollar ratio increases, then sell the yens and buy back American dollars for a profit.

There are five major forex exchange markets in the world, New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo and Zurich. Forex trading occurs around the clock in various markets, Asian, European, and American. With different time zones, when Asian trading stops, European trading opens, and conversely when European trading stops, American trading opens, and when American trading stops, then it is time for Asian trading to begin again.

Most of the trading in the world occurs in the forex markets; smaller markets for trade in individual countries. Simply put forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Over $1.4 trillion dollars, US of forex trading occurs daily and sometimes fortunes are made or lost in this market. The billionaire George Soros has made most of his money in forex trading. Successfully managing your money in forex trading requires an understanding of the bid/ask spread.

Simply put the bid ask spread is the difference between the price at which something is offered for sale and the price that it is actually purchased for. For instance, if the ask price is 100 dollars, and the bid is 102 dollars then the difference is two dollars, the spread. Many forex traders trade on margin. Trading on margin is buying and selling assets that are worth more than the money in your account. Since currency exchange rates on any given day are usually less than two percent, forex trading is done with a small margin. To use an example, with a one percent margin a trader can trade up to $250,000 even if he only has $5,000 in his account. This means the trade has leverage of 50 to one. This amount of leverage allows a trader to make good profits very quickly. Of course, with the chance of high profits also comes high risk.

Like many other speculative investments, a key part of money management for the forex trader is only using money that can be put at risk. It is wise to set aside a portion of your net worth and make that the only money you use in forex trading. While the chances of good profits are there, if you should have a problem and get wiped out, you'll only have a limited amount of money placed at risk. Also remember that the market is n constant motion. There are always trading opportunities. If a currency is becoming stronger or weaker in relation to other currencies there is always a chance for profit. For instance, if you believe that the Euro is gong to become weak compared to the US dollar then selling Euros is a good bet. If you believe that the dollar is going to become weaker than the yen, or the pound sterling, then selling dollars is wise. Staying current on the news and current events in the countries whose currency you hold is a smart move. Many people reach points where they can predict currency changes based on political or economic news in a given country. Remember though that forex trading is speculation, so be careful when managing your funds and only invest what you can afford to risk.

Please always make sure you check with the pros when dealing in this market unless you are doing this as a hobby and don't have a lot at stake in it. There are a lot of big boys playing here and they won't lose much sleep if you and thousands others lose their shirts...
by David Mclauchlan

Emotions And Forex Trading Don't Mix

The key to making money in the currency exchange market is to avoid emotional decisions and to follow a carefully thought out strategy that takes the current market and history into account. Going with your gut is not the way to go in the Forex market. Going with your gut could cost you money. Forex trading is a highly volatile market where emotions tend to run high. Emotions can influence your trading decisions, unless you have a strategy planned in advance, and stick to it, no matter what you think you're seeing at the moment. The keys to success in Forex are system, analysis and perseverance.

Most experienced traders tell novice traders that they need to develop a system — and stick to it no matter what. Letting your emotions rule your decisions can hurt your trading in a number of ways. The system tells you when to buy, what to buy, when to trade and what to trade for. By sticking to your system you'll maximize your profits. A system based on technical analysis of historical market trends is one of the most potent tools that you can utilize if you're just getting started in Forex trading. Many traders, with years of experience, continue to use this system to keep the profits rolling in. Many traders will tell you that when their gut instinct and their system collide, the system is almost always right.

Using a mechanical system takes the emotion out of your trading, eliminating one of the reasons people fail. Your system doesn't sway with emotions. It sticks to a tried and true course. To be effective, your system — whether you develop your own or adopt one created by someone else — should identify the entry and exit point of your trade, mitigating factors, and an exit strategy. In general terms this is as follows:
Under what conditions should I acquire a currency?
For instance, you may have a buy order for when a particular currency drops more than 5 pips because your analysis tells you that that's likely to be as low as it goes.
When should I trade one currency for another and for which one?

There are two reasons to exit — to maximize your profit, or minimize your loss. That means you have a set stop-loss order and a set take-profit order at which point you cash out your trade.
What factors will I allow to change that decision?
While the money market moves in predictable patterns, there are always individual variations of a trend within those patterns. If you've taken those variations into account, it will be far easier to decide when a factor really does make a difference, and when it's just wishful thinking. If you're not careful however this is where emotion could come into play and sour deals for you.

How will I trade out of a currency?
Your exit strategy may be as simple as a stop-loss order when my loss hits 5% or a take-profit order when I make 40% profit'.
Another key is perseverance. Analysis of trends in the market will show you that the market moves in dips and spurts within overall patterns that are predictable. No trend moves smoothly in an up or down line — there are inevitable periods of time when values suddenly spiral up or down based on some outside factor.

These are the times when emotion can hurt your portfolio. When a currency that you're holding takes a sudden dip south, it's tempting to succumb to panic trading, cut your losses and run even if your system tells you to hold on. On the other hand, it's easy to catch the rising excitement as a trade starts increasing in value and scramble to buy more of the same. These are exactly the times to rely most heavily on your trading system. It will tell you exactly when to trade for maximum profit.
If you control your emotions and stick to the system you'll maximize your profits and all should be smooth sailing. by David Mclauchlan

Forex Trading Is Driven By Five Top Economic Indicators

Many factors affect Forex trading. It is critical to know and understand the various factors that cause the Forex to fluctuate from day to day. The foreign exchange market will change depending on the economic factors that play a role in the movement of currency. Guest post by David Mclauchlan

Economic factors and indicators are released by the government or by private organizations that can look in depth at economic performances. These indicators can be used to analyse economic performances from any country. The economic reports measure a country's economic health, in addition to government policies and current events.

For the most part, a reputable broker can look at economic indicators and know which trades will be best. Reports on these indicators are released at scheduled times and can tell if a certain country is experiencing improvement in the economy or if the country's economy is on the decline. When the prices fluctuate, a great deal one way or the other, the price can be affected.
Current events and the state of the economy in any given nation is one of the top economic indicators used when analyzing the Forex. Factors such as unemployment numbers, housing statistics and the current state of a country's government can all affect changes in the Forex. When a country is feeling optimisitic about the current state of affairs in their country, prices of the Forex will reflect this. When a nation experiences political unrest, large amounts of unemployed workers and inflation, the rate of the currency will be reflected. Sometimes, this indicator tends to be overlooked, but can serve as an important gauge in the fluctuations of the Forex.

The gross domestic product,or GDP,is another economic indicator used when looking at the foreign exchange market. The GDP is considered the widest and broadest measure of the economy in a country. The gross domestic product represents the total market value of all goods and services that are normally produced within any given country. This is usually measured in the time frame of a year, and not in weeks or months. Using a larger time period gives good statistics on the products and services that are produced in the country. This indicator is not used alone when forecasting the Forex. The GDP is considered a lagging indicator, meaning that is a measurable factor that changes after the economy has already began to follow a certain trend.

Retail sales reports are the third economic factor that is often used in analyzing the Forex. This is the total receipt of all retail stores in any country. Usually, this measurement is not every single retail sale, but is a sample of diverse retail stores throughout the country. This is considered a very reliable and important economic indicator because of the consumer spending patterns that are expected throughout the year. This factor is usually more important that lagging indicators and gives a clearer picture of the state of the economy in any country.

Another reliable economic indicator in the foreign exchange market is the industrial production report. This report shows the fluctuation in productions in industries such as factories, and utilities. The report looks at actual production in relation to what the production capacity potential is over a period of time. When a country is producing at a maximum capacity it positively affects the Forex and is considered ideal conditions for traders.

The consumer price index, or the CPI, is the last critical economic indicator in analyzing the Forex. The CPI is the measure of the change in the prices of consumer goods in 200 categories. This report can tell whether or not a country is making or losing money on their products and services. The exports that a country has are very important when looking at this indicator because the amount of exports can reflect a currency's weakness or its strength.

The Forex is affected by many factors. These factors usually follow a certain trend so it is important to understand how each factor works in forecasting the Forex. Some are good indicators alone while others should be used together for accurate Forex predications.

Trade Forex Like a Pro

Trade Forex Like a Pro- Revealed the secret of the floor traders, How you will be successful trading forex using price. This is proven method tested that is making over $1,250 Monthly. No sorry, no complicated calculation. This is as simple as "ABC" B