By: Jovan Vucetic
Forex traders often look at indicators such as Bolinger Bands, Pivot Points, MACD, Moving Averages and the such to help them determine where to enter or exit trades. Using technical indicators is fine, however many traders overemphasize their importance or just plain misunderstand them.
Many forex traders think that they can simply download an indicator and then mechanically apply it into their trading and do so profitably. This is just a plain illusion. Successful traders realize that there is a lot more to using indicators than just asking them to generate buy/sell signals or pin-point exact entry points. Technical indicators for them represent just one part of their trading strategy.
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you should not put all your faith into those sometimes confusing little indicators.
Take Moving Averages (MA s) for example. They are supposed to show the direction of the trend. The most common and often used are the simple 200day MA, 100day MA, 50day MA, 35day MA and the 21day MA but they are only valid on daily graphs. Some forex day traders say that a good signal is when the 50day MA is crossed by the 13day MA and that when this occurs you should trade in the direction of the cross.
The problem with this (apart from the fact that it only works on daily graphs) is that these types of crosses do not occur often enough for traders to exploit them. This can often lead to a situation where traders are seeing what they thought was a cross now reverse and uncross. Even worse, it can lead to a situation where day traders are chasing and trying to anticipate a cross. If you are doing this, you are distancing yourself from the market which you are trying to trade. Not only are you trying to guess what the price is going to do next but you are guessing what the indicator, based on the prices, is going to do next.
[Read full article]
Many forex traders think that they can simply download an indicator and then mechanically apply it into their trading and do so profitably. This is just a plain illusion. Successful traders realize that there is a lot more to using indicators than just asking them to generate buy/sell signals or pin-point exact entry points. Technical indicators for them represent just one part of their trading strategy.
Let's take a look at some of the reasons why you should not put all your faith into those sometimes confusing little indicators.
Take Moving Averages (MA s) for example. They are supposed to show the direction of the trend. The most common and often used are the simple 200day MA, 100day MA, 50day MA, 35day MA and the 21day MA but they are only valid on daily graphs. Some forex day traders say that a good signal is when the 50day MA is crossed by the 13day MA and that when this occurs you should trade in the direction of the cross.
The problem with this (apart from the fact that it only works on daily graphs) is that these types of crosses do not occur often enough for traders to exploit them. This can often lead to a situation where traders are seeing what they thought was a cross now reverse and uncross. Even worse, it can lead to a situation where day traders are chasing and trying to anticipate a cross. If you are doing this, you are distancing yourself from the market which you are trying to trade. Not only are you trying to guess what the price is going to do next but you are guessing what the indicator, based on the prices, is going to do next.
[Read full article]
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