trade strategy

Forex Trade Strategy – Thursday Is A Mover

Forex Kong 20 Comments

So here we find ourselves up bright and early, with the birds chirping, and the palms rustling in the cool ocean breeze. It a beautiful morning here as the sun has just poked its head out – casting a “pinky blue” blanket across the sky. Truly heaven on Earth.

But – Hell in markets!

We’ve got the ECB announcement in 15 minutes which ( regardless of what you are lead to believe ) has much larger implications / market moving potential than any of the usual “phony numbers” on U.S employement – also scheduled an hour or so later.

The European Central Bank ( after the “supposed recovery” – ya right! ) is now considering some form of monetary easing of its own as the recent rise in EUR/USD has hampered growth/exports etc….

If by the odd chance The ECB “does” announce motions to ease ( or perhaps issues forward guidance to telegraph such a move ) watch USD shoot further for the moon , and the EUR to tank.

I’m adding long USD in and around the announcement.

TLT Getting Crushed – 10 Yr Yield Rising

Forex Kong 21 Comments

The symbol “TLT” which tracks the value of the “U.S Treasury 10 year bond price” has  “firmly been rejected” at a very strong level of resistance around 107.50 and continues to fall – now at 105.06

When “bond prices fall” ( the price at which you purchase the paper ) in turn “bond yields rise” ( the rate of interest paid out on the bond ) – as simple mechanics of how the bond market works.

When we see bond “yields rise” and “bond prices” fall, we better understand why the Fed currently buys around 85% of the new debt issued by the Treasury, as “if they didn’t” – bond prices would crater, and the rate of interest owed would skyrocket crushing the U.S under the “already unsustainable” debt load / interest payments.

We saw Greek bond yields move upward in the neighborhood of 27% to up to 48% during the crisis,  signalling to the world that in order to “encourage investment in their country” bond holders would require this kind of payout.

This kind of rise in bond yields is a massive forward indicator that ” a country is in real trouble” as sellers dump like mad – and bond yields shoot for the moon.

Always ALWAYS keep your eyes on the bond market for signals of larger moves to come.

The Art Of Re Entry – Directly Into Profit

Forex Kong 8 Comments

Often “re-entry”  into a trade where you’ve already taken profits, can be a little tricky. Questions arise such as “gees – is this move over already “? or “man…..not sure this is the right level, perhaps it’s gonna pullback a little further “.

Aside from years of experience , practice and application, as well a fine tuned short-term trade technology / indicator – there really is no easy answer.

If you’ve been viewing charts for as long as I have, and enjoy the “geometry and math” that goes along with it- often these little “areas for re-entry” just come jumping off the screen.

It takes time, and it takes a considerable amount of trial and error in order to hone “some kind of strategy” that gives you a tiny glimmer of hope – in navigating the short-term time frames / noise that goes along with them.

A couple of other hints:

  • I don’t really believe there is much need to get any smaller than the 1H chart (coupled with the 15 minute chart).
  • If you consider that a 5 minute chart can move from overbought to oversold every couple of hours or less – there is really no solid indication as to “what level to enter” as…it’s really just noise.
  • With whatever technical indicators you use ( RSI, MACD, Bollinger Bands, Stocs , MA Crosses ) consider placing orders “above / below” current price action when your signal is met – and allow the price to “move towards you” as further confirmation.
  • Take the time to place several smaller orders ( in the direction of the original trade ) and let momentum ( if in fact you are correct ) pick up your orders “as price moves towards you”.
  • Smile and laugh when you get it completely wrong (and price “shoots off” in the opposite direction) as  – you don’t have a position! You’ve done something right!

With these simple things in mind, get back to the charts, consider my tweet and subsequent “re-entry across the board”.

See if you find anything useful as…..every single trade entered this morning has moved directly into profit.

The Euro And The Yen – A Move In The Making

Forex Kong 12 Comments

There is continued talk in Forex circles this week that the European Central Bank will send a “dovish” message at this weeks policy meeting – suggesting that further monetary easing is likely on its way. The recent strengths in EUR hurts exports, and some feel a rate cut could come as early as this meeting scheduled for Thursday.

As we’ve discussed here on my occasions, the current “currency war” has countries racing for the bottom, with hopes of making their export prices look more attractive to foreign buyers. If your buyer can stretch his money further and possibly get a better deal buying from you ( as your currency value is reduced ) – you sell more airplanes, you’re country’s economy grows etc…

At least that’s the idea anyway.

Lining this up with some crazy technical conditions I present to you the chart of EUR/JPY – or the Euro vs Yen. On purpose I’ve added every single technical indicator / explanation as to further drive the point home, as this “should” be a whopper. The chart is a day or two old and has already moved a couple hundred pips lower.

Forex_Kong_EUR_JPY_2013-10-30

Forex_Kong_EUR_JPY_2013-10-30

It was the BOJ’s massive liquidity that drove this pairs huge move over the past year, and now we’ll see The European Central Bank “fight back” with more talk and a possible rate cut to tip the scales back in their favor.

On nearly every technical level known to man ( and now with increasingly likely fundamental factors ) this thing is about as overbought as it gets, as this again is a “weekly chart”.

Continued USD strength coupled with a move by the ECB could have this thing fall hard – making for a fantastic short opportunity moving into Thursday’s meeting.

Bagholders – Buyers And Sellers Alike

Forex Kong 10 Comments

We’ll see a pullback in USD here as,  on a purely technical level ( looking at smaller time frames such as the 4H and 1H ) she’s extremely overbought.

Considering the over all volatility this “counter trend move” may also prove to be quite dramatic / powerful as “yet again” late comers ( as I see it  – pretty much the entire financial blogosphere ) chase a train that’s already left the station.

It’s “buy the dip time” in USD.

Commodities got smoked here as suggested,  but in all – gold itself has held up “reasonably well”.

I knew this move was going to be powerful ( although the general “silence” here at the blog “trade wise” has me thinking that most of you didn’t buy that ) and now find myself booking huge profits – looking for re-entry.

I hate to say it but……Thursday is a long way off, and I have a sneaking suspicion we’re not going to see much “tradable action” early in the week.

With some decent numbers out of China over the weekend I expect a little “bouncy bouncy” in AUD and perhaps risk in general as USD pulls back a touch before making the next leg higher.

You’ve really got to be nimble these days to bank profits, and get set for the next short-term move,  as “buy n hold” or “sell n hold” for that matter just might have you “holding a bag”.

Stay safe people…and trade within your means.

Learn How To Trade – Zoom Out

Forex Kong 25 Comments

I wonder if the blog would have become more popular “faster” if maybe I’d named it “Central Bank Insider” or maybe “The Guy Inside” as I’m sure by now, the odd one of you must be wondering….”How the hell did he know the dollar was gonna do that”?

Perdoname pero, on occasion I’ve got to do a bit of “shameless promotion” here as the financial blogosphere is a cut throat world full of “snake oil salesman” and “wanna be gurus”. If you want to stand out, you’ve really got to make a name for yourself – and credibility is everything.

The “long USD” trades have been absolutely unbelievable – as seen through the monster moves against EUR, GBP and CHF. Gold has again “cratered” in its wake, and we “still” see equities hanging in near the highs.

I caught literally THE ENTIRE MOVE – as I was well in position “several days” prior to lift off.

How did I know?

One of the best pieces of advice I can offer traders / investors looking to find these “magical entries” is to zoom out and start looking at longer term charts. Identify areas of support and resistance, and PLAN AHEAD as to what you might do “if and when” price comes to you meet you.

If we take another look at the “weekly” chart of $Dxy ( just as an example ) it’s painfully clear that the area “around” 79.00 ( remember – I draw my horizontal lines of support with a crayola crayon NOT A LASER POINTER ) held some significance.

Lining up your “longer term technicals” with short term news/events as well fundamentals/monetary policy changes etc creates a powerful combination and a solid method for “seeing the future”.

The further you zoom out – the more powerful / legit / stronger the lines of support and resistance become!

Long term planning and “mucha paciencia”(much patience) makes some of this almost seem easy as – you are already “ready and waiting” when price comes to you.

USD Strength – Gold, Stocks, Forex Direction

Forex Kong 15 Comments

The strength of the US Dollar has gathered steam over the past few days, with several trades “long USD” already paying well. I don’t imagine this to be your average “run of the mill” type move here – so I feel it worthy of further discussion / analysis.

The US Dollar will most certainly be moving lower in the “not so distant future”, but we trade what we’ve got in front of us so……

Forex_Kong_USD_Moving_Higher

Forex_Kong_USD_Moving_Higher

In looking to line up these “technicals” with some broader “intermarket analysis” we’ve got to consider that U.S equities have made some pretty huge gains since January of this year , as USD has more or less gone “up the mountain and back down the other side” – now at exactly the same level around 79.00.

With an impending correction “upward” in USD it would make sense to “finally see equities correct lower” ( if that’s at all possible considering the Fed’s POMO) and unfortunately for many – see gold and the precious metals correct lower as well.

Looking at forex markets it’s obvious the “opposite reaction” of a much stronger US Dollar will equate to a weaker EUR as well GBP and CHF. I would also expect the commodity currencies to correct lower as well, but considering that they’ve already fallen considerably – my focus would be on the Euro type pairs.

So that’s what I’m running with over the next few days – looking to “inch in” to many trades with a “risk off” vibe, and continued strength in the dreaded U.S Dollar.

Trade Alert! – 15 Minutes To The Fed

Forex Kong 3 Comments

Considering that I nearly always sit these kind of risk events out, on occasion I WILL deploy strategies in order to take advantage of the expected near term volatility.

In this case I’ve got a long USD bias regardless of the announcement with a few smaller orders already in play including plays short GBP/USD as well long USD/CHF, but am also “waiting in the wings” with several other pairs – locked and loaded.

What I like to do in situations like this is place several smaller orders “above or below” a given pairs current price “prior to the announcement in line with my bias so…..with GBP/USD for example, and order 20 pips under the current price , as well 30 pips , as well 50 pips!

All said and done “if” the market moves in my direction I’m in “deep” on the momentum.

If not….fine. I watch the action rocket in the opposite direction with little or no skin in the game at all.

Take it or leave it – this strategy really works well on short-term “momentum plays”.

Lets see how it plays out and envision these “traps” set in 10 additional pairs.

 

 

 

Day Of The Dead – One Year Blog Anniversary

Forex Kong 18 Comments

Well – what can be said?

It looks as though I’ll have no trouble “celebtrating in style” here today and through the “Day of the Dead” celebrations set to kick off here in Playa over the coming days  – as we nailed the upside turn on USD literally to the minute. That, coupled with the incredible moves in AUD overnight ( I sent out the tweet, and even put a post together as fast as I could!) has me up an additional 3% and “holding” here as of this morning.

As well the “offical” 1 year anniversary at Forex Kong!

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico.

Day_Of_The_Dead

Day_Of_The_Dead

It’s Halloween on an entirely different level, lasting nearly 3 full days (and even gets an official bank holiday). The costumes, art work and cultural festivities are second to none. I encourage all of you to Google it / have a look online.

So, that’s about it for this morning short of keeping our eyes on reaction across other asset classes as the USD digs in here, and looks to wipe out a serious number of players “still” sitting on the other side.

Australian Dollar – Honesty In Decline

Forex Kong 5 Comments

The following a direct quote from Glenn Robert Stevens – an Australian economist and the current Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

“The foreign exchange market is perhaps another area in which investors should take care.

While the direction of the exchange rate’s response to some recent events might be understandable, that was from levels that were already unusually high.

These levels of the exchange rate are not supported by Australia’s relative levels of costs and productivity. Moreover, the terms of trade are likely to fall, not rise, from here. So it seems quite likely that at some point in the future the Australian dollar will be materially lower than it is today. “

 Boom!

You’ve got to love it when a central banker:

  1. Tells the absolute truth.
  2. Tells the absolute truth.
  3. Tells the absolute truth.

Short AUD has been ” and will continue to be” an absolutely fantastic trade moving forward, as perhaps “finally” we get the correlation to “global appetite for risk” back in vouge.