By far regarded as the largest and the busiest market, the Forex market has tremendous profit potential. The Forex currency market is a lot different from the stock market and you need to have a very good understanding about the way this market functions. Its not surprising that there’s a lot being said and written about Forex currency trading. In fact, those who are keen on mastering Forex trading skills can actually take up a Forex trading course and get formal Forex education. Before you set out to trade in the Forex market or the Foreign Currency Exchange Market, you must make sure that you have done plenty of research, studied historical trends, analyzed existing trends, and worked out profitable Forex trading strategies that can boost your Forex trade.

There is no standard strategy that can be safely applied when it comes to Forex currency trading. Basically, what may work for one may not necessarily fit your trading needs and you must therefore devise your own strategies that can guarantee success in the long run. You need to first analyze the market using a technical analysis approach or the fundamental analysis approach to plan your moves. While technical analysis refers to forecasting future movement based on past performance, fundamental analysis refers to studying current accounts and impact of imports and exports on currency flow.

Understanding how volatile this market is, every experienced trader understands that it is not practically possible to generate profits from every trade. However, as you study this market closely, you will be able to work out better strategies that can minimize your risk levels.

Use surplus money for trading

This market is speculative and “timing a trade’ is crucial. Even a slightest mistake can cost you a lot of money. So, make sure that you use only surplus money in order to save yourself from financial wreck. One of the biggest mistakes many traders do is staking all their money in a single trade. If you are not sure, go for margin trading to enjoy more leverage.

Do some market research

Consult your financial advisor or a Forex broker who can tell you the exact status of the Forex market. You need to understand whether current trend is upwards or downwards, is it strong or weak, and how long has this trend been going on or is a new trend in the making. A trade without prior market research can lead to financial disasters.

Decide the time frame for trading

As a smart Forex trader, you must have a time frame in mind beyond which you wont like to trade and also decide an approximate exit price. This gives you a proper perspective and helps you to plan your Forex trade more efficiently. You need to therefore decide whether you would like to go for long term trading or intra-day trading. This will help you to determine which approach you must adopt for research and analysis. For instance, for someone trading several times a day, a daily graph analysis will be useless and the trader will require thirty minute or hour graphs to plan his exit. Another important factor that you need to take into account is the time periods when different financial companies enter and exit the foreign exchange market in order to study the market trends.

Choosing the right time to trade Timing is everything when it comes to Forex trading and once you have understood the market trends you need to immediately plan an entry. Rely on technical analysis to time your move and predict market movements.

If you are not sure about which Forex trading strategy to use, find a good Forex broker who can handle your financial portfolio for you

Just how important is an automated system to the Forex trading system?
Before we answer that question, let us first determine how large Forex trading market is. From there, we will know the importance of automated systems for the Forex market.
It is true that the Forex market is the largest market around the world not just in terms of average daily turnover and average revenue per trader. It is also the largest market in terms of participants.
You name it, we’ve got it. Take a look at the following:
BANKS- they are not just for saving money and lending capital to entrepreneurs, but they are one of the major players in Forex market. Banks cater both to large quantity of speculative trading and daily commercial turnover. Well-established banks can trade billions of dollars worth of foreign currencies everyday. Some of the trades are undertaken on behalf of their clients, but most are through proprietary desks.
COMMERCIAL COMPANIES- these commercial companies trade small quantities of foreign currencies compared to larger banks and their trades produce small and short-term impact on the market rates. However, the trade flows from transactions made by commercial companies are essential factors with regards to the long-term direction of the exchange rate of a certain currency.
CENTRAL BANKS- central banks play an important function in the Forex market. They have the control over the supply of different currency, inflation, and interest rate. In addition, they have also official target rates for the currencies that they are handling. They are responsible for stabilizing the Forex market through the use of foreign exchange reserves. Their intervention in the market is enough to stabilize a certain currency.
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRMS- these firms commonly manage huge accounts on behalf of their clients such as endowments and pension funds. They are using the Forex market to facilitate transactions, specifically in foreign securities. For example, an investment manager bearing an international equity portfolio needs to purchase and sell several pairs of foreign currencies to pay for foreign securities purchases.
RETAIL FX BROKERS- they handle a fraction of the total volume of Forex market. A single retail Forex broker estimates retail volume of between 25 to 50 billion dollars each day, which is estimated to be at 2% of the total market volume.
SPECULATORS- these are individuals who purchase and sell foreign currencies and profit through fluctuations on its price as opposed to popular methods such as interest and dividends. They perform the important role of transferring the risk to individuals who do not wish to bear it.
In Forex market alone, there are already six major players partaking on the $1.8 trillion worth of daily turnover. With a large number of Forex players, there is really a need in switching from manual to automated Forex trading system.
Among the aforementioned major Forex players, the automated trading system is of great advantage to the speculators. Since they focus on the price fluctuations of various foreign currencies in order to profit, the real time data analysis will help them determine trades that will give advantage to them.
There are several automated Forex trading systems available in the market. There are also automated Forex systems that are offered for free or as part of their trading account acquired from their Forex brokers or agents. Such complimentary system packages are typically elementary trading system. Thus, if you are looking for more features, you can avail of it through additional payments.
There are two types of automated Forex trading system. These are discussed in the following:
Desktop-based system- all Forex-related data are stored on your desktop’s hard drive. This system is unpopular to Forex traders because all data are susceptible to computer virus contamination and other security problems. Worse, when the computer malfunctions, all essential information might be lost and cannot be retrieved (unless you have some back-up files of your own). However, it is little expensive compared to the other types of automated trading system.
Web-based system- the security of your Forex account and other data are provided by your web-based provider. These are hosted on secured servers. It is also convenient in the sense that there will be no software required and it is universally compatible with your Internet browser.
You may also try different automated trading system demos first so that you will be able to determine the automated Forex trading system that suits your personal preference and needs.
Even if you are just a small-time Forex player, it will be to your advantage if you will use an automated Forex trading system for your future trades.

Here we are going to give an introduction to using forex technical analysis and using forex charts for bigger profits. Forex technical analysis if done correctly is the best and most time efficient way of seeking profits and should be considered as part of any forex trading strategy.

The first point to keep in mind is:

Forex technical analysis is a game of odds not of certainties, so forget about predicting with scientific accuracy, no one can achieve that – but if you understand the following equation, you can make big forex profits:

Fundamentals + Investor Psychology = Price

It is a fact that the fundamentals have an influence on price – all investors have the facts at their disposal but they see them in their own way and this mass of millions of people determines forex prices.

Investor psychology

Human psychology is constant and never changes.

Traders will always be influenced by emotion and these emotions of greed and fear, will push prices to far away from fair value and these price spikes are easy to see on forex charts.

The important point to keep in mind is that investor psychology repeats – and so do chart patterns.

Seeing the Whole Picture

Another very important point to keep in mind with forex technical analysis is that it studies the fundamentals.

All it does is simply assume that in today’s world of instant communications, they show up straight way in price action.

Studying forex charts however does something more:

It studies how investors perceive the fundamentals.

Its is not enough to simply look at the facts, as we all draw our own conclusions from what we see and emotions ensure that investors don’t act logically – they push prices to far ( either up or down) based upon their emotions.

Studying forex charts gives you the whole picture – it reflects the fundamentals and more importantly, how investors perceive them.

When using forex charts you don’t care how and why prices move, you simply look at the reality of price and try and make profits from the moves.

It sounds simple as a concept and it is – but it’s extremely powerful and if you incorporate it in your forex trading system, you can make big profits by trading when the odds are on your side.

Forex Technical Analysis Is Time Efficient

Using forex technical analysis is time efficient, you are studying price and don’t need to make assumptions of where they may go based upon the news – you can see the price as it is and simply trade the truth.

Many traders continually look at news and try and trade off it – but this is hard – the fundamentals are discounted instantly and you have very little chance of winning. Furthermore, if you look at the opinion of others your emotions get involved and any trader who lets emotions dictate their forex trading strategy, is destined to lose

Trading forex charts lets you see the reality as it is – no opinions or guessing and that gives you a huge advantage when trading for profits.

Forex Charting is An Art

Of course, all people use forex charts in different ways and it’s an art not a science.

It is similar to being a ships captain – use your charts correctly and you can get from A – B safely and earn a living; use your charts in the wrong way and you will hit the rocks and drown.

There are many myths perpetrated about using forex charts and if fall victim to them and you will lose.

The good news is anyone can become a successful forex chartist and if you follow basic rules, you can trade with the odds on your side and execute your forex trading signals correctly and win.

In part 2 of this article on forex technical analysis, we will look at basics points to incorporate into your forex trading plan, to be successful and look at common myths regarding forex charts you need to avoid.