Insanity Trade – Don't Try This At Home

As of late – I feel I’ve gotten a little soft.

Pulling back over the summer months ( knowing ahead of time it was gonna be rocky ) has me a tad complacent, and dare I say a touch out of character. Should impending war, global Central Bank intervention , looming collisions with massive asteroids , or nuclear disaster stand in the way of a seasoned forex trader? No chance.

It’s time to light this candle.

September is upon us and blog traffic has literally tripled in a matter of days. I’ve been over the “reader’s poll” ( and want to thank all of you who’ve contributed!) and understand that a large number of you really want to get down to some of the “real-time trades” and straight up entry/exit stufff – no bones about it.

I need to have a little fun once in a while too, as doing this for a living can really get to you at times. Daily walks on a Caribbean beach, cold beer, swimming with turtles/whale sharks, diving , salsa bars, bone fishing etc……these things can really wear on a guy!

I am placing an order “long EUR/AUD” at 1.43 – as well “short CAD/CHF at 90.00 and fully expect that if anyone else tries this……….you will be taken directly to the cleaners.

I implore you “not to try this”. And don’t even ask me  “how / why”.

Summers over. I’m done tapping the brakes.

Let’s get this show on the road.

Why September Changes Everything for Currency Markets

Summer’s over, and if you’ve been trading forex for more than five minutes, you know what that means. The big boys are back from their Hamptons retreats and Swiss chalets, ready to move serious money. August volume was pathetic – typical summer doldrums where retail traders get chopped up while institutional players sit on their hands. But September? That’s when the real game begins.

Those EUR/AUD and CAD/CHF positions I just mentioned aren’t random dart throws. They’re calculated moves based on what’s brewing beneath the surface while everyone else was distracted by beach umbrellas and vacation photos. The European Central Bank is positioning for their next policy pivot, and the Reserve Bank of Australia is caught between a rock and a hard place with their mining-dependent economy. Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank continues their quiet accumulation game, and the Bank of Canada is watching oil prices like a hawk circles roadkill.

The Institutional Money Flow Shift

Here’s what separates the professionals from the weekend warriors: understanding when the big money moves. Pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and central banks don’t trade during August. They wait. They plan. They position for September’s return to normal volumes. Right now, we’re seeing the early signs of that institutional flow returning to the market.

The EUR/AUD play isn’t about technical patterns or support and resistance lines drawn by some guru with a YouTube channel. It’s about recognizing that European manufacturing data is showing signs of stabilization while Australian housing markets are screaming recession signals. When institutional flows return, they’ll amplify these fundamental divergences into tradeable moves that can last weeks or months.

Central Bank Chess Match Intensifies

Every central banker worth their salt spent the summer analyzing inflation data, employment figures, and preparing their next moves. The Federal Reserve’s September meeting isn’t just another policy announcement – it’s a declaration of war on inflation or a white flag of surrender to recession fears. Either way, currency markets will react violently.

The Swiss National Bank has been accumulating foreign currencies all summer while everyone watched Netflix. The CAD/CHF short at 90.00 recognizes that the SNB’s intervention playbook is about to get tested again. When oil prices inevitably correct lower – and they will – the Canadian dollar will get crushed while the Swiss franc benefits from its safe-haven status and SNB’s strategic positioning.

Don’t even get me started on the Bank of Japan’s continued yield curve control madness. The JPY crosses are setting up for moves that will make seasoned traders weep with joy or rage, depending on which side they’re positioned.

Macro Themes That Actually Matter

Forget the noise about technical indicators and chart patterns. The real money is made by understanding macro themes that drive currency values over meaningful timeframes. Energy prices are redistributing global wealth faster than a Vegas blackjack dealer. Countries that import energy are getting crushed while exporters are swimming in cash.

The USD’s reserve currency status is being challenged not by rhetoric but by actual trade flows denominated in other currencies. China’s Belt and Road initiative isn’t just infrastructure development – it’s currency warfare by another name. When trade flows shift, currency demand shifts, and prices follow like gravity pulling water downhill.

European energy dependence isn’t a seasonal problem that disappears with warmer weather. It’s a structural shift that will influence EUR crosses for years. Smart money recognizes these themes early and positions accordingly, not with day-trading scalps but with strategic allocations that compound over time.

Risk Management When Volatility Returns

September volatility isn’t your friend unless you respect it properly. Those summer ranges that lulled retail traders into complacency are about to explode like pressure cookers. Position sizing becomes critical when daily ranges expand from 50 pips to 200 pips overnight.

Professional traders don’t increase position sizes when volatility increases – they decrease them while maintaining the same risk exposure. It’s basic portfolio mathematics, but somehow most traders miss this fundamental concept and blow up their accounts during the first major volatility spike.

The currency pairs I’m targeting aren’t chosen for their potential profits alone but for their risk-adjusted return profiles during high-volatility periods. EUR/AUD and CAD/CHF offer exposure to major macro themes without the headline risk that comes with trading major pairs during central bank announcement periods.

14 Responses

  1. tio September 9, 2013 / 10:01 pm

    me .. following long EUR/AUD at 1.43 .. YES and try learn ‘the why’ myself … RISK-OFF win.
    Yucatan welcome

    • Forex Kong September 9, 2013 / 10:08 pm

      Tio.

      This is very, very , very , very dangerous if you are trading too large my friend.

      This pair is is unlike any beast you’ve ever tried to wrangle.

      Small position….small , small small!!!

      • JSkogs September 9, 2013 / 10:38 pm

        Ya i see this as a risk off play and has had a long ass downtrend in play for awhile. Could catch a lot of shorts half steppin. I entered a tiny position. You can always learn more w skin in the game. Thanks Kong. Hope the break was brilliant. Sweet place

        • Forex Kong September 9, 2013 / 10:47 pm

          Hanging in on the JPY pairs too, as “risk off” is inevitable.

          I’m not sure it’s for everyone – but as far as my general trade decisions go…..this far into the game ( I see a “megaphone type formation” in NAZDAX ) as well “fake out” on Nikkei blah , blah , blah , it would be virtually impossible taking a hit “positioning” this way.

          As much as I like “banking profits” weekly – I’m not at all concerned if a trade takes longer to pay off. Then finding “new ideas” and letting them take shape as well. It’s more of a “process” for me as opposed to a “specific time and place”.

          Isla is beautiful yes…hope you are doin well.

  2. Robert September 9, 2013 / 11:14 pm

    Hi Kong, why do you say “risk off” is inevitable? Everyone has been anticipating a risk off event for so long but it never happen

  3. JSkogs September 9, 2013 / 11:21 pm

    Yup I’m hanging tight in my jpy trades. A little offside right now but trying to stick with working the trade through longer and building it for better profits rather than just taking profits when they are there. I’ve been pretty good about small adds so I’ve got reasonable cash left over for when the gettin is good so they say.

  4. David September 10, 2013 / 1:19 am

    Liking the EUR/AUD long and I’ve even entered a larger beast, GBP/AUD at 1.6940… If/When the “cleaners” come, I’m buying the Dip on these pairs.

    Oh, AUD/JPY short looks good too… AUD is really strong right now and YEN is weak, seems like a nice fade, but curse the daily yield while we wait for the plunge.

  5. Brosbhos September 10, 2013 / 2:22 am

    May i dare ask you about the Stop Loss?

    • Forex Kong September 10, 2013 / 4:14 am

      200 pips – minimum.

  6. Robert September 10, 2013 / 2:42 am

    Man…. the yen crosses are following last week’s action… this is not looking good..

    • Forex Kong September 10, 2013 / 4:21 am

      You may have to hang in there RObert – yes the JPY pairs are indeed pushing against us. I’ll say that I didn’t expect this recent “pop” in risk, and still see the price action on Yen a tad suspect. Practically 10 days straight up in a couple pairs as USD/JPY still won’t cross 100.00

      I’m not worried about here, as I would look to do another complete round of selling / add at the first sign of reversal.

      • Robert September 10, 2013 / 6:53 am

        Trying to hang in kong. But seeing usdjpy pop 100 and gbpjpy pop 157 with no sign of exhaustion….. is really something

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