A picture is worth more than a thousand words. The forex chart is perhaps the best proof of this clich. Have you heard of Candlestick Charting? It was developed by the Japanese in the 17th century to profit from rice trading.
Over time, traders have become very sophisticated in understanding charts and the information contained in them. In fact appearance of certain chart patterns can give you priceless clues about the direction in which the market is about to turn. Dont confuse the Head and Shoulder pattern with the name of a shampoo.
By studying the patterns that appear on the forex charts you can predict the likely direction of the currency pair whether it is sideways, upward or downward. Study of charts is known as Technical analysis. Technical analysis depends on the study of different types of charts to understand and predict the likely direction of the currency market. Without technical analysis, you wont be able succeed in forex trading. Technical analysis is very important for forex traders.
There are four main types of charts that are used in the world of finance and for that matter in forex trading. The four main types of forex charts are:
1) Line Chart,
2) Bar Chart,
3) Candlestick Chart and
4) Point and Figure Charts (P&F Charts).
Lets briefly describe each one.
Line Charts: This chart simply connect the closes from one period to another. The resulting chart resembles a line. A line chart doesnt show you where the currency pair opened for the period. It only shows where it closed. Nor does it points the high and lows for a period. So critical data is missing from a line chart!
Bar Charts: A bar chart shows the opening price of a currency pair, the closing price and the low and high price for each period. The bar chart can provide the hourly, daily, weekly and even monthly information. It is also often called the OHLC (open-high-low-close) bar chart. Bar chart addresses many of the shortcomings of the line chart.
The top and bottom of the bar are the periods high and low prices of the currency pair. A horizontal line protruding from the right of the bar represents the currency pairs closing price. A horizontal line protruding from the left of the line represents the bar represents the opening price of the currency pair.
Candlestick Charts: Overtime candlestick charts have become very popular among traders. There are many candlestick patterns that are used by the traders to predict the continuation or reversal of the trend. Traditional bar charts and the candlestick charts do almost the same thing. Both show the open, close, low and high price for a period. But candlestick charts do it more effectively. Candlestick chart clearly depicts the currency pairs open, high, low and close. A candlestick chart is made up of two components.
The range between the open and the close is called the real body and the price movement above and below the body is called the shadows. If the currency pair closing price is above the opening price, the candlestick body is white and it is taken as a bullish sign. Similarly if the closing price is below the opening price, the candlestick body is painted black and it is taken as a bearish sign.
Point and Figure Charts (P&F Charts): Sometimes Point and Figure Charts are used by traders in technical analysis. The only downside is that they dont represent the time well. The main advantage of the P&F charts is that they filter out noise or unimportant price movement. Point and figure charts plot the currency pair price using a column of Xs to represent rising price movements and Os to represent falling price movements.
The new plot is only made when the price exceeds the predetermined threshold by a fixed amount. The Xs and Os are plotted only when the currency price moves by a predefined amount. A plot may not be made if the currency price does not move significantly.
Related posts:
- An Introduction To Forex Candlestick Charts Sponsored by online fx trading If you have an interest...
- Candlestick Charting FREE Video Newsletter By Steve Nison Unless you understand Candlestick charting, you cant trade and invest...
- Charting Basics: What Is On The Financial Trading Charts? Sponsored by online fx trading A picture speaks a thousand...
- Candlestick Guide Download Candlestick Guide (82 pages) free after you finish reading...
- Fundamental Of Technical Analysis Sponsored by online fx trading Chart is lines of graphics...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
