Is the Trend Your Friend?
The trend can indeed be your friend as a Forex trader. Just make sure to be aware that the trend can end, and you need to make sure you are prepared for that inevitability. When the trend ends it can be most unfriendly. The trends in forex is often a crucial part of any Forex trading plan.
When there is a strong trend, it will eliminate some of the issues with exact timing of trades because almost no matter when you enter if the market is going in a specific direction, you can make a profit if you watch for when the trend changes and time your exits accordingly.
Watching the Trend in Forex
Trends in Forex can fall into three-time frames – day, swing and position. Each one of these trade lengths has their own trend. The same charts with different time periods can show a trader the trend for that period. The most commonly used charts for trading the trend are the Simple Moving Average and the Exponential Moving Average. An uptrend will be evident with higher highs and higher lows. A downtrend conversely will appear as lower highs and lower lows.
It is important to first identify the trend before determining whether you should enter or exit a trade. Once you can establish that there is a strong trend, then you will know when to enter and hopefully time your exit accordingly. Determining that you are trading with the trend and not with the corrective waves in the trend is key to remaining friends with the trend. Watching for the waves within the trend is essential to understanding how you can benefit from trading the trend.
Matching your Forex trading strategy to market conditions seems straight forward. The most common market condition that traders look to use is the trend and that is why trend trading is such a popular plan. The future is always somewhat unclear in the Forex market but identifying a trend can clear that vision up a bit.
The smartest way to trade with the trend is to look for the swings that inevitably are part of any trending market. Buying on the low of the uptrend and selling on the high of the low trend is an obvious trading goal. Watching the swings of the trending market can help you identify when those highs of a low trend are coming and when the lows of the uptrend happen. The longer time charts will help you to decide the strength of the trend and determine where the swings or corrective waves are.
There are different ways of strategizing trend trading. Some use simple price action charts. Others will use indicators like the RSI, Relative Strength Index to gauge the trend and its swings. Either way, a general rule of thumb for trend trading is to enter longer positions when the market is in a upward trend and shorter positions when the market is trending downwards. Following this advice should keep you on friendly terms with the Forex trend.