Forex Technical Analysis

Forex Technical Analysis

Technical analysis is very much different from fundamental analysis in that a technical analyst assumes that the price shows all known information about a currency pair. For the most part, forex technical analysts study charts rather than economic indicators to find the best entry and exit prices.
How Technical Analysis Works

Technical analysts use indicators and chart patterns to find where a currency pair’s price is likely to go. A technical analysts job is to see how investors are changing the price of a currency, and to see who is buying and selling and at what price.
Support and Resistance Basics

Support and resistance lines are some of the most basic technical trading tools. The support line is drawn at an area where the price is likely to rise. A resistance line is drawn where the price is likely to fall. Generally, support and resistance lines work for the small trader because larger investors like banks, hedge funds, and institutions have large buy or sell orders at the price specified. Retail forex investors can make a profit by riding the waves in price created by big investors.
More Complicated than Just Trendlines

There is far more to technical trading than just support and resistance lines, however. There are various indicators like the Relative Strength Index, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence, and even candlestick patterns. But we’ll get into all the small details in individual articles.
Shorter Term than Fundamental Analysis

Though technical analysis can be applied on long term charts, typically it is best suited for short term trading, or trades that last less than a month. Over time, the power of chart patterns and technical analysis is eroded by fundamental factors which play a larger role in the long term movements of a currency pair.