Finding A Suitable Fx Trading House Before Investing In Forex

By Cedric Welsch

Forex trading is the act of buying and selling foreign currencies when the values of the money fluctuate enough to make profits. The art of this type of trade is one that can be somewhat complex, but with the right amount of diligence and knowledge it can be a profitable adventure for one to dabble in. The best way to venture into Forex trading is to find a suitable Forex trading house to connect with before investing.

A foreign exchange trading house is simply a company that is generally ran online that keeps up to the minute statistics running daily on trading charts and provides a middle man for all trading activities. Many people use a company such as this because they take a lot of the leg work out of foreign currency trading. There are a lot of aspects to trading currencies and a company that provides up to date information and keeps archives of past trades is most useful to those wishing to invest in foreign dollars.

When an individual does enough research or is taught to work specifically with the buying and selling of foreign currencies, the need for a company to keep track of all the updated stats and assist in the actual buying and selling proves to be a great asset to making profits. Some people prefer to keep a middle man out of the picture in order to better increase their profits, this is not entirely a bad idea if the person is capable of keeping track of the multitudes of information needed in trading.

Individual’s that do not have the knowledge or capability of keeping track of all of the information and the ever changing values of each countries dollar, are more likely to profit by investing their money with a company that has the software to keep up with this sort of trading. Because currency can fluctuate from one hour to the next it certainly is wise to seek a reputable trading company before investing hard earned money in foreign currency.

Events such as natural disasters, shifts in a country’s economy, and various other situations can cause countries currency values to fluctuate from one day to the next. These fluctuations are what investors are counting on to make a profit, having a company to keep track of all the information is pertinent to successful investing. A Forex trading house handles all of the charts and information that is crucial to an investor, finding a reputable house to handle investments is most often the key to any profit while trading in currency.

About the Author

Do not belittle the capacity of the forex industry to make you a rich business person someday.
There is certain magic in fx trading that makes even the commoner to amass profits quick.

Forex: Large Currency Speculators add to Dollar shorts. Yen, Euro Positions rise

By CountingPips.com

The latest Commitments of Traders (COT) report, released on Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), showed that large futures speculators increased their short positions against the US dollar for the second consecutive week. Non-commercial futures positions, those taken by hedge funds and large speculators, were overall net short the US dollar by $22.98 billion against other major currencies as of June 7th, according to Reuters. The data is a rise from the total short position of $15.73 billion on May 31st, according to the CFTC COT data and calculations by Reuters which calculates the dollar positions against the euro, British pound, Japanese yen, Australian will dollar, Canadian dollar and the Swiss franc.

This week’s notable changes were Euro positions increasing to their highest level since May 10th while Japanese yen positions rose over to the long side and to their highest level since late March.

EuroFx: Currency speculators boosted their net long positions for the euro against the U.S. dollar for a second straight week as of June 7th. Euro futures positions rose to a total of 51,836 long contracts following a total of 21,970 long positions on May 31st.

The COT report is published every Friday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and shows futures positions as of the previous Tuesday. It can be a useful tool for traders to gauge investor sentiment and to look for potential changes in the direction of a currency or commodity. Each currency contract is a quote for that currency directly against the U.S. dollar, where as a net short amount of contracts means that more speculators are betting that currency to fall against the dollar and net long position expect that currency to rise versus the dollar. The graphs overlay the forex spot closing price of each Tuesday when COT trader positions are reported for each corresponding spot currency pair.

GBP: British pound sterling positions were about unchanged after an improvement last week. Pound contracts edged lower to a total of 1,700 net short positions as of June 7th following a total of 1,829 short contracts on May 31st.


JPY: The Japanese yen net contracts increased after two straight weeks of declines. Yen positions rose to a total of 17,631 net long contracts reported on June 7 following a total of 1,648 net long contracts on May 31st.


CHF: Swiss franc long positions decreased as of June 7th after increasing the week previous. Franc positions fell to a total of 16,865 net long contracts following a net of 21,119 long contracts on May 31st.


CAD: The Canadian dollar positions fell to their lowest level since September of 2010 last week. CAD positions decreased to a total of 13,522 long contracts on June 7th following a total of 26,402 long contracts on May 31st.


AUD: The Australian dollar long positions rose higher for a third consecutive week. AUD contracts increased to a total net amount of 65,205 long contracts as of June 7th. AUD positions had totaled 60,015 net long contracts on May 31st.


NZD: New Zealand dollar futures positions rose for a third consecutive week to the highest level since early December. NZD contracts advanced to a total of 16,004 long positions as of June 7th from a total of 15,724 long contracts on May 31st.


MXN: Mexican peso long contracts decreased for a second straight week and fell to the lowest level since March 29th. MXN contracts fell to 90,198 net long contracts as of June 7th from a total of 108,268 long contracts as of May 31st.



COT Data Summary as of June 7, 2011
Large Speculators Net Positions vs. the US Dollar

EUR: +51836
GBP: -1750
JPY: 17631
CHF: +16865
CAD: +13522
AUD: +65205
NZD: +16004
MXN: +90198

Forex: Technical Trading Basics

By James McKee

After you have nailed down the basics of interpreting a chart and have decided on a time frame that works for you it is time to add further analysis to your chart. Most charting software such as MT4 (meta trader 4), and other proprietary charting systems used by major brokers contain all the tools mentioned herein. Proper utilization of these tools is vital to your success as a trader and must be understood thoroughly. The first (and arguably most important) of these tools is referred to as Fibonacci retracement, and this system is made possible thanks to the famous Mathematician Fibonacci.

Trading with the Fibonacci indicator can seem deceptively easy for some; however, it must be noted that while technical indicators are good guides they are not guarantees. Fibonacci retracement is no exception to this rule and must be adhered to as such; strict reliance on technical indicators can result in staggering losses, and this is why they should be tested prior to being taken live. Results will be mixed at first, and over time once someone has the feel for a new indicator such as Fibonacci they will be able to apply it with more skill over time.

In order to establish Fibonacci levels use the Fibonacci retracement tool on your respective software (MT4, etc…) and draw a line from the top of a trend to the bottom. At this point you will see a graph plotted out within your chart, and if the currency should happen to “break” Fibonacci levels then you know the price of that currency could be poised to move in a big way. The key trading with Fibonacci or any other technical indicator is not to jump in too early, even once the currency has broken Fibonacci levels it is important to wait for “confirmation” prior to making a trade.

Trading within Fibonacci levels is a far safer bet than trading without them, once a currency pair has “bounced” within Fibonacci levels it is a fairly good bet that they will continue to move in that direction. The reason Fibonacci retracement works a good portion of the time on the online forex exchange is that many traders follow the movement of this indicator and trade accordingly; however, traders are not the only people to influence the market, and decisions such as those made by central banks can bring a new spin on any session. Finonacci retracement is often used in combination with EMA levels and Parabolic SAR technical indicators.

About the Author

Author is a Forex trader and financial analyst residing in Denver, Colorado. To stay up to date on all the latest developments in the financial world and beyond be sure to check out the online forex trading regularly.

What Does the U.S. Dollar & the Euro Mean to the S&P 500?

Article by JW Jones, optionstradingsignals.com

The buzz around the blogosphere and in the media is that Quantitative Easing II is scheduled to end in around 3 weeks. Already pundits are asking about Quantitative Easing III as a matter of when, not if. In reality a QE III Lite version is already in the cards as the Federal Reserve has stated they will be buying Treasuries and Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) with maturing issues. The Fed also plans on reinvesting the interest earned from the existing portfolio (Roughly $15 billion/monthly).

When it comes to the application of financial principles, doing the opposite of what everyone else does generally leads to an extreme variation in the overall results. While the results are not always better, they are at the very least significantly different from what most lemmings within the group experience. In every aspect of my financial life I try to do the opposite of what the herd is doing. It takes experience and a significant level of discipline, but buying from the herd when they are selling and being willing to sell into a crowd when they are buying is a great way to trade. It sounds easy, but for most people it is not, myself included.

Right now financial markets are uncertain. I would be remiss if I did not point out the recent strength in the U.S. Dollar Index and the potential higher low that it has carved out on the daily and weekly charts. The weekly chart of the U.S. Dollar Index is shown below:

The current pattern on the U.S. Dollar Weekly chart is bullish. We could see the U.S. Dollar Index trade significantly higher from here as it has been under severe selling pressure for an extended period of time. While I believe technical analysis is just one context through which to view financial markets, it is uncanny how often market cycles and headline events line up. Is it merely a coincidence that the U.S. Dollar is potentially bottoming around the same time the Federal Reserve is ending the QE II asset purchase program?

Regardless of what camp economists are in, we presently live in a strange time for financial markets and capitalism in general. One of the more interesting charts to study is the Euro currency, which in contrast to the U.S. Dollar Index appears to have a more bearish pattern. Could it be that the U.S. Dollar is setting up to rally because of the perceived weakness of the Eurozone? The daily chart of the Euro ETF is shown below:

The Dollar may be firming up here based on the Euro’s weakness and it may have absolutely nothing to do with QE II ending. I always refer to price action and never question Mr. Market’s directional bias. If the U.S. Dollar begins to work higher what impact will it have on equities?

A stronger U.S. Dollar would certainly put pressure on risk assets, specifically equity and commodity prices. As it turns out, we are at an interesting juncture in financial markets at this point in time.

The 4 year stock market cycle is nearing an end, a presidential election will take place in less than 18 months, the U.S. government has a massive debt crisis developing, and the European debt crisis continues to mature in what will likely be a microcosm of what we will face here in the United States. The Middle East remains tense at the very least and the recent OPEC announcement to maintain supply levels has helped support oil prices.

Higher oil prices have obviously slowed down the U.S. economy as the consumer is strapped with higher costs on nearly everything, specifically food and energy. In addition, the unemployment numbers are seemingly not improving and housing appears to be rolling over . . . again.

Almost everywhere we look the news is bleak. Mr. Market has shrugged off bad news time and time again since the March 2009 lows. The long term shorts remain frustrated to say the least and those who were actively shorting along the way have likely been stopped out multiple times. Everywhere I look market commentary is bearish and pundits are talking about additional weakness as they point to a rallying Dollar and multiple economic headwinds facing domestic markets.

Traders and investors should be focused on a few specific price levels on the S&P 500. With the Dollar rallying, the S&P 500 index has remained under extreme selling pressure for multiple weeks. The S&P 500 (SPX) is likely going to test its 200 period moving average. From there I am expecting a bounce higher, although the bounce may be nothing more than a Dead Cat Bounce.

As always, time and price will be the final arbiter but if the Dollar continues to trade higher we could see the S&P 500 lose its 200 period moving average and eventually test a major support level which needs to hold up for the bulls. If the March 16, 2011 pivot lows are taken out to the downside, the next leg of the secular bear market may be under way. The daily chart of the SPX illustrated below shows the key price levels and the potential price action that may lead up to a key test of the March 2011 pivot lows:

Very rarely does the first mouse get the cheese, so I would anticipate a bounce off of the 200 period moving average which currently coincides with the March pivot lows. With not only the pivot lows but the 200 period moving average offering support a breakdown lower will be a large tell about the health and future price action of the S&P 500.

Right now I am just going to focus on how the S&P 500 handles the key support zone illustrated above. The forthcoming price action will tell traders everything we need to know about the health of financial markets. I have no idea if we are about to enter a double dip recession nor do I know whether price action will even test the March pivot lows.

What I do know is that price action in coming days around key support areas is going to be critical. I am convinced that Mr. Market will tell us whether the bullish party will continue or come to an end in the next few weeks/months. A breakdown of the March pivot lows in the future will likely initiate the launch sequence for the next secular bear market. I would keep the S&P 500 1,250 price level on the radar going forward. Risk remains high.

If you would like to be informed several times per week on SP 500, Volatility Index, Gold, and Silver intermediate direction and option trade alerts… take a look at www.OptionsTradingSignals.com/specials/index.php today for a 24 hour 66% off coupon, and/or sign up for my occasional free updates.

Article by JW Jones, optionstradingsignals.com

Why Is the Failure Rate so High Among Day Traders?

By David Adams

If you ever want to impress a potential new friend, it’s generally not a good idea to tell them that you are a day trader. Over the years, day trading has been associated with well-intentioned individuals losing their life savings, jumping out of skyscraper windows, and going insane. While I cannot make any particular judgments about my own sanity, I have yet to lose my life savings or jump out of a skyscraper window. Yet the fact remains there is a tremendous amount of failure in the day trading business. Of course, this begs the question; why do so many day traders fail?

There are a variety of reasons day traders experience such a high rate of failure; some are very correctable, and others cannot be helped. Whenever I look over a chart that I have traded, I often ask myself why I did not take this trade, or that trade; it all looks very easy in retrospect, yet it is not as easy to initiate trades as the market progresses throughout the trading session.

Some of the most prominent and important reasons for failure are:

• Lack of preparation to trade. Trading is a full-time job and a trader must be aware of a wide variety of variables occurring on a global scale.
• Lack of proper trading technique. I suppose this is the most prevalent problem in trading today.
• Trading the wrong equity instrument. Some equity has tremendous begs to be day traded, while others are very difficult to day trade.

I begin trading in my own personal trading room at 6:15 AM, and I have usually been up for 45 minutes or so studying the overseas markets, the overnight markets, and a few predictive reports to which I subscribe. On the other hand, the majority of the traders in my room show up 5 minutes before the market opens without the slightest idea of what has occurred overnight and no idea about what the day’s trading action may hold. Now you could argue that sense I am the moderator in a trading room it is my job to stay on top of the day’s action; but it is my belief that trading rooms are good places to learn to trade and then move on. I would hate to consider myself a permanent member of any trading room rather than a well trained trader who is fully capable of placing trades without advice. My point is simple; to be a good trader you have to put in daily preparation before you begin trading.

By far and away the greatest deficiency I see in new traders, or traders who are struggling with their profitability, is a lack of proper trading technique. It’s difficult to place blame on any certain cause in this dilemma, because I see trading systems that have been taught that are substandard and really have no chance for the trader to earn a consistent income. On the other hand, it is not uncommon to see traders who have taken a quality course but not put the time in to thoroughly understand and implement the principles of the course. In both instances, regardless of the cause, the new trader is destined to fail. From my standpoint, learning proper trading technique and being able to implement that technique is the cornerstone of consistent and profitable trading. Unfortunately, I have met very few new traders who have put the time and effort into learning a system well enough to implement it properly.

Finally, I see new traders trading a variety of equity instruments that are downright impossible for an inexperienced trader to master. I suggest learning to day trade on the e-mini’s. But even on the e-mini’s, most no students want to begin with the ES contract, which is (in my opinion) is extremely difficult to trade without a good deal of experience. On the other hand, there are a wide variety of lesser contracts with a great deal of liquidity that are far more forgiving than the ES contract. Just the same, the new traders that come to my trading room or training course have typically been failing on the ES contract. I asked them why they are trading such a difficult contract. The answers range from nebulous to an “I don’t know.” It is best to start your day trading experience on a contract that is forgiving and will allow you to learn at a low cost, and I stress this fact in my training.

In summary we have identified three basic areas where new traders tend to fail. I find most traders are poorly prepared, on a daily basis, to tackle the rigors of the Chicago Mercantile exchange. We have also noted that a large number of traders do not possess the prerequisite skills to ever trade effectively and must go through some retraining before they will be profitable. And finally, there is a good number of traders who simply trade the wrong instrument. Find a system, master it, and trade the right contract. That’s the equation for success.

About the Author

Real Live Trading Doesn’t Lie. Spend several days in my trading room and see if you can benefit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here

Forex Trading – The Need To Trade Like The Professional Traders

By James Woolley

There are lots of traders all around the world who make excellent profits from forex trading. Some will trade from home using their own money, whilst others will trade for a large bank using the bank’s money. Both of these groups of traders will share similar traits and characteristics, so how can you emulate their success yourself?

Well first of all you need to have an incredible amount of discipline, as well as a real desire to succeed. You need to work long and hard to find a winning system, which can take some people many months and years, and then you need to be disciplined enough to stick to this system and make sure that you use strict money management principles. You should also ensure that you do not start chasing losses when things go against you.

However what I really want to talk about in this article is the need to trade like the professional traders. This means using the same time frames, the same fibonacci levels and the same levels of support and resistance.

So in other words you want to be seeing the same things that the majority of other traders are seeing because this will make your task of making consistent profits a lot easier. In a lot of cases traders will react to things in a certain way, which makes it easier to predict price moves in the currency markets.

Therefore you do not want to be using less common time frames such as the 3 minute chart or the 2 hour chart, for example. You want to be using the most popular time frames that a lot of other traders are using, such as the 1 hour and daily charts, for instance.

You also want to be using common tools such as fibonacci retracement levels on these most common charts because they will help give you areas of support and resistance where the price is most likely to reverse in the opposite direction.

You also want to be drawing lines of support and resistance on your charts that are likely to be identical to those used by so many other traders. If you draw your own arbitrary lines on your charts, then it will be a waste of time because the price probably won’t react to any of your lines of support or resistance.

So the point is that you need to have probability on your side if you want to make money from currency trading, and the best way to do that is to trade the most common time frames and identify areas of support and resistance that everyone else will be looking at as well. The price will often react in a predictable fashion around these key areas because many traders will be seeing the same levels of support and resistance, and will act accordingly.

You don’t need to use lots of fancy indicators to be successful in this industry. You simply need to follow the professional traders, who will often use minimal indicators and simply trade price action around the key support and resistance levels that everyone else is looking at.

 

About the Author

Click here to read a review of Currency Cash Machine, the new membership site that allows you to mirror trade the signals of a professional hedge fund trader, and to find more tips and strategies relating to forex currency trading.

From Day Job to Day Trader

By James McKee

The world of trading can be a very intimidating place for those who are not familiar with the finance world. Charts look chaotic at first and there is a language that is completely unique to the trading world. When first trying to figure out whether or not trading is right for you, and it is important to have a basic knowledge base prior to deciding whether or not you want to move forward. After laying the foundation for your trading education there is one thing to always remember: “You will win, but you will also lose.” No one profits from every trade they make, but with practice there is the opportunity to win much more often than you lose.

In the world of day trading the major markets most people participate in are stocks, commodities, futures, and currencies. Among the most active markets is in fact the currency market; the currency market or Forex (Foreign Currency Exchange) is an exchange in which currencies are compared against one another to determine value. The only way to figure out how much the US dollar is worth is to compare it against the Euro, the Swiss Franc or other currency. When currencies are traded for profit they are “paired” in order to establish the current value of a given currency against another.

While shifts in the value of currency are relatively small (often less than 1% a day) the use of leverage makes it possible for a trader to profit immensely from a relatively small amount of exposure. For example, if you were to invest $2000.00 at 50:1 leverage that would mean that you invested $100,000.00 in the market place, and if you make a trade going in the right direction, and it moves one percent you just made $1000.00. Of course, you do not have to wait for it to move a full one percent, and taking even 20-30% from a trade is not bad if you are making that from an investment every day.

Of course there has to be a measure of discipline within a trader’s routine prior to even thinking about trading live in order to profit. The use of a free demo account is invaluable to new traders since it provides the exact same experience as live trading (minus profits or losses of course); no one should ever use real money until they are profitable in a demo account. With some learning and due diligence applied a new trader could have there demo account at a steadily profitable status within months; although, everyone is different and no one should give up so long as they are making progress. There is the very real opportunity for many who love the finance world to move onto the online forex exchange and make it a full time job, but only those who are willing to truly commit them sel

About the Author

Author is a Forex trader and financial analyst residing in Denver, Colorado. To stay up to date on all the latest developments in the financial world and beyond be sure to check out the online forex trading regularly.

E-Mini Trading: Are There Really Only 4 or 5 Keys to Success?

By David Adams

It’s not unusual to see pieces written that enumerate important points in the field of e-mini trading. Many intimate that there may be 3 or 4 key skills that will put a new trader well on his way to trading success. Generally speaking, the articles are well written and the points are valid. On the other hand, I would like to point out that they are a wide variety of skills that must be thoroughly learned in order to trade profitably.

I suppose the most difficult aspect of learning to trade is the steep learning curve the profession entails. It’s simply not enough to learn to recognize a good set up, or find an occasional good trade. No, there is a well-defined skill set that must be learned. For a trader can develop the necessary confidence to attack the e-mini markets with consistent success. That is a key word here, too. Consistency. Great traders are consistent day in and day out, while they may have to adjust their trading style incrementally to specific market conditions, their overall style remains consistent and their profitability is also consistent.

Some of the skills that are often overlooked include areas such as:

• Money management and proper trade scaling
• Trade management
• Learning to set proper stop loss and profit targets
• Learning to deal with your broker’s mindset
• Setting specific trading rules and never deviating from those rules
• Learning to trade a specific contract and understanding the personality of that contract
• Choosing a specific trading methodology that will work over the long run
• Understanding the zero-sum nature of the futures markets and its idiosyncrasies
• Understanding chart reading
• Understanding price action
• Learning which contracts have limited potential for profits and why
• Understanding the emotional and psychological parameters a trader must work with within, and this may be the most pivotal and important skill to learn. Yet it is the least discussed and most overlooked aspect of e-mini trading. More traders go broke because their emotions betray them than any technical skill.

This is just a partial list of a much longer list of specific skills that every e-mini trader must gain an understanding. To trade consistently, a trader must learn to execute these skills and others to consistently profit. Certain deficiencies in training or emotions will eventually cause a trader to exit the business prematurely; so a determined student continues his learning experience through reading books and articles throughout the course of his or her career. The day you stop learning is the day you start moving backwards in your trading ability.

You’ll notice that on the last bulleted point I added a few extra lines, and that was intentional. With some exceptions, the psychology of trading is often overlooked in favor of learning technical skills that will assure good setups. In my experience, it is usually the emotional makeup of an individual trader that assures his or her success, as the technical skills are a matter of rote memorization and practice. Controlling your emotions, however, is a far more difficult exercise and many traders fail miserably under stressful conditions or chaotic market situations. Whether you are winning or losing in a daily trading session, you must learn to maintain a consistent viewpoint and methodology in your trading.

It would take an entire book to fully explain all of the ramifications of each of the bullet points I outlined above. My goal is to encourage e-mini traders to learn more than an ordinary trading course offers because there is more to learn. On average, I read a new book on trading on a weekly basis. It is also common for me to reread older books to refresh my training in specific areas. Trading is a business that requires a great deal of multitasking and a variety of emotional and technical skills and in order to succeed you must develop a level of confidence in a far wider context than is often thought. On the other hand, it can be done. Many traders make a great living on a daily basis because they have mastered a long list of skills an e-mini trader must learn. I encourage all new traders to continue in their trading education by expanding their knowledge base through reading and browsing magazine articles.

In summary, I have pointed out the wide variety of skills and e-mini trader must learn. Obviously, not all of these skills can be mastered overnight, but they can be learned through education, time, and experience. If you desire to be a successful e-mini trader, make it mission to expand your knowledge base on the wide variety of topics it takes to be successful.

About the Author

Real Live Trading Doesn’t Lie. Spend several days in my trading room and see if you can benefit from a fresh and unique view on trading e-mini contracts. Sign up for your free trading experience by clicking here

Forex Membership Sites – Why They Are Now Very Advanced

By James Woolley

If you receive newsletters from various forex sites, you will be aware that there are new products being launched all the time. These include things such as automated trading robots, trading systems, signal services and training courses. However it is forex membership sites that seem to be popular right now, and this is the topic I want to talk about today.

The fact is that forex membership sites are quite common these days. You only have to go online and search for this term to find lots of different sites you can join. All of these sites have a similar business model. They offer a particular service and you, the consumer, pays either a lifetime membership or an ongoing monthly or yearly membership fee to receive this service.

So for example you will find sites that offer profitable trading signals for a monthly fee and sites that offer educational material and ongoing training and support every week. Every single aspect of currency trading is generally catered for.

However the point I want to make is that in the last few years these membership sites have really come on leaps and bounds. Whereas a lot of these sites only offered a basic service, quite a few of them are branching out and offering a range of different services all for a single membership fee.

So instead of offering trading signals, for instance, sites will not only offer this service as part of the membership, but will also offer a range of other services such as trading tools and software, training videos, access to professional traders and member forums.

In other words they provide everything you need to help you become a profitable forex trader, and this obviously makes sense because if you continue to lose money and do not even cover the membership fee, then you will obviously cancel your subscription pretty quickly. However if you continue to improve your trading and are moving in the right direction, then you will stay subscribed for much longer.

This is all good news for aspiring currency traders because companies are realizing that they need to provide professional services that are really going to help traders achieve their goals. So as a result these membership sites are becoming more and more advanced and are providing a range of different services to help you succeed.

Traditional membership sites have always been fairly basic, but all that is now changing and hopefully we are going to be seeing bigger and better websites cropping up all the time as each year passes. Of course there will still be some that are a waste of money, but it’s the ones that give you profitable trading signals and access to professional traders (at the very least) that are most valuable, and these are you ones you should consider joining.

About the Author

Click here for more forex trading tips and to read all about Forex Power Group, which is a brand new forex membership site that has just launched.

Weekly Fundamental FX Preview – Monetary Policy Decisions and the Greek Debt Crisis

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A combination of central bank monetary policy decisions and the Greek debt crisis may be the key drivers in this week’s FX trading.

While this week’s economic calendar is significantly lighter than the previous, key monetary policy decisions will come from central bank meetings in Japan and Switzerland. Both are expected to hold interest rates steady at their current levels. Tuesday will bring key inflationary data from China as m/m CPI is expected to rise 5.5%. This may induce a fifth interest rate increase from the Chinese central bank. Additional monetary policy tightening may result in a further drag on Chinese equities. The CSI 300 index is down 6% this year and down over 11% since yearly high.

The UK, US, and the euro zone are set to release CPI numbers throughout the week. Both the US and the EU have firmly anchored inflation expectations as was emphasized by their respected central bankers last week. For the UK the Bank of England continues to maintain the position that inflationary pressures will be transitory and is expected to keep interest rates at low levels, though increased volatility may be seen in sterling on Tuesday with the CPI data release.

Market participants will continue to focus on the tiff between Germany and the ECB. This weekend Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said Greece needs a “soft, voluntary restructuring” of its debt, a proposal backed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble. This is in stark contrast to the ECB’s position against any restructuring which would involve a credit event as defined by the rating agencies. In separate comments on both Thursday and Friday ECB President Trichet clarified the ECB’s position. A compromise will be needed prior to the Eurogroup meeting on June 20th or risk losing support from the IMF for Greek agreement. As such the dollar could continue to trade on firmer footing as could the safe haven currencies of the Swiss franc and Japanese yen.

Read more forex trading news on our forex blog.