Forex Trading: How to Predict the Forex Market

In the ever changing business world you need to be forward thinking, if you want to have the potential to be successful. If you talk with successful Forex traders or investors in the Forex market, they will undoubtedly highlight their ability and knowledge of how to predict the Forex market by analyzing a Forex trend. This article has been prepared to help you apply your FX knowledge by predicting the changing nature of the foreign exchange market in the most appropriate way.

What is Forex?

Before we proceed, we need to answer the question - what is the Forex market? Simply put, It is a global decentralised market for trading currencies. Moreover, it is the largest market in the world, processing trillions of dollars worth of transactions every day. The key participants in it are international banks, hedge funds, commercial companies, various central banks and, of course, retail FX brokers and investors.

Moving back to predicting movements in the market, we must acknowledge that a trader must have a thorough comprehension of the factors that can affect the movement of a currency's exchange rate, if they want to be successful. Remember - there is no ultimate Forex prediction formula - it all depends on your own skills, experiences, the accuracy of your foreign exchange forecasting, and the commitment to succeeding. The five factors you need to understand are:

• Economic growth

• Geopolitics or political stability

• Monetary policy

• Imports and exports

• Interest rates

If you scrupulously trail all events, micro factors and macro factors, you have a much higher chance of success in making your predictions. But you should understand that this is not easy. There are some sites that offer so-called free Forex predictions, but you should avoid them, as they are not reliable. To track economic announcements, forecasts, and other important information related to Forex, many professional FX traders use a Forex Calendar.

The Trends

Being capable of identifying forex trends today is one of the core skills a Forex trader should possess, as it can prove to be highly useful in making any Forex market prediction. The trend is the general direction of a market or an asset price. Trends may vary in length, from short to intermediate, or to long term. Being able to identify a trend can prove to be highly profitable, and the reason is that you will be able to trade with the trend.

In the context of a general trading strategy, it is best to trade with trends. If the general trend of the FX market is moving up, you should be cautious and attentive in regards to taking any positions that may rely on the trend moving in the completely opposite direction. A trend can also apply to interest rates, equities, and different yields - and any other market that can be characterised by a movement in volume or price.

In order to make good FX predictions, we'll outline three types of trends that you need to know - uptrend, downtrend and sideways trend. For example, if the trend moves upwards in relation to the graph, then the chosen currency (USD) is actually appreciating in value. To a trader who is just starting out, this may seem like the forex winning trend, but this is not always the case. If the trend moves downwards in relation to the graph, it is depreciating in value. As for the sideways trend, the currencies are neither depreciating or appreciating - they are in a stable condition. Knowing all this will help you along in becoming a forex trend master and is key to making the right Forex daily predictions.

Types of Forex Analysis

There are many different ways to analyze the Foreign Exchange market, in anticipation of trading. Some traders attempt to use a forex trend detector, a forex trend focus indicator, a forex trend trading cloud indicator, or other forex trend software. However, in this article, we are going to cover the skills that are essential for a trader do develop in order to minimize risk and understand price movements more accurately, through analysis.

Although the categories of analysis may be quite plentiful, your task is to keep the end goal in sight. This is in order to utilise the analysis to indicate good trading opportunities. We are now going to describe the two main areas of FX analysis, and explore them in greater detail. They are closely connected with making the right Forex trading predictions. It is also important to highlight that trying out both areas may help determine which method - or what degree of combination - suits your personality.

Fundamental Analysis

FX fundamental analysis concentrates on different factors within the FX market. Traders need to pay attention to fundamental factors such as: gross domestic product (GDP), inflation, economic growth activity, and manufacturing. Thus, fundamental analysis in Forex involves studying the economic strength of various countries, in order to make wise Forex predictions.

It provides us with information on how geopolitical and economical events influence the currency market. For example, certain figures and statements given in speeches by politicians or economists are classed amongst traders as 'concrete economical announcements'. These can have a serious impact on currency market moves. In fact, announcements related to the economy or politics in the US are particularly crucial to follow.

And so we come to the question of how to predict Forex movement? Fortunately, economists created the standard economic calendar, where they make daily predictions around various economic values based upon recent history. It generally contains the following data: date, time, currency, data released, actual, forecast, and previous. There are certain economic figures, which when announced, nearly always have a heavy impact on the movement of the FX market.

They are:

• Interest rates

• Situation of employment

• Budget, trade balance and treasury budget

• GDP

Traditionally, when a certain country raises its interest rate, its currency will consequently strengthen, this is due to the fact that investors will shift their assets to the country in question, in order to achieve higher returns. Be sure to take this into account when making a Forex prediction. Considerable decreases in payroll employment are one of the warning signs of weak economic activity, that could eventually lead to lower interest rates. This can have a negative impact on a currency.

A country that has a substantial trade balance deficiency will most likely have a weak currency, because there will be sustained commercial selling of its currency accordingly. GDP is a primary identifier of the strength of economic activity. There is a connection between a high GDP figure, and expectations of higher interest rates, which is positive for the currency in question.

How can a trader utilise all the points above to make Forex market predictions? First, always keep an economic calendar to hand. Then it's a matter of knowing which prediction indicator is gaining the most attention, because it will eventually become the catalyst for future price movements in the Forex market. And finally, pay attention to news revisions - the situation on the market can change in a blink of an eye.

Technical Analysis

The essence of technical analysis is that it attempts to forecast future changes in forex trend lines by thoroughly examining past market data, particularly price data. The idea is that history may repeat itself in predictable patterns. In turn, those patterns, produced by movements in price, are called Forex signals. This is the goal of technical analysis - is to uncover current signals of a market by inspecting past Forex market signals. This may help traders perform daily Forex predictions and detect a forex trend reversal. In addition, prices move in trends. Technical analysts are inclined to believe that price fluctuations are not random, and are not unpredictable by nature. Once a certain type of trend is established, it is likely to continue for a certain period of time.

FX traders can rely on volume charts, price charts, and other mathematical representations of market data (further referred to as studies) to discover the ideal entry or exit points for a trade. This is something else that can assist a trader with learning how to predict Forex. Some of these studies help to indicate trends, whilst others aid in defining the strength and stability of that trend over time. Technical analysis can increase discipline and decrease the influence of emotions in your trading plan. It can be rather complicated to screen out fundamental impressions, and stick with your entry and exit points according to your plan. Whilst no system is perfect, technical analysis provides you with what you need for Forex daily analysis and prediction, and allows you to evaluate your trading plan more objectively.

Now is a good time to define technical indicator types. The first one in the line is trend. These indicators smooth price data out, in a way that a persistent down, up, or sideways trend can be seen without additional efforts. Next is the strength of the trend. This type of indicator characterises the market's intensity on a certain price, by examining the FX market positions taken by different market participants.

The basics of strength indicators are volume or open interest. Following strength is volatility, which refers to the magnitude of daily price fluctuations. It doesn't matter what the directional trend is here. Volatility changes are anticipated to be equal to changes in prices. Next we'll move onto cycle indicators. They identify repeating patterns in the FX market, from recurrent events such as elections or seasons.

A Cycle Forex Prediction Indicator determines the timing of a concrete Forex market pattern. It would be unwise for us not to mention support and resistance - they describe the levels of price where markets frequently rise or fall, and then reverse. Finally, the last one in our list is momentum. These indicators define whether the trend will be strong or weak after it progresses over a certain period of time. Momentum is highest at the time a trend starts, and lowest when it changes.

Learn more about how to predict the market with technical and fundamental analysis in this free webinar:

Which forex pairs trend is best?

The forex market often follows a trends more than the stock market does, most of the time. Why is that? The equity market, which is basically a market that is composed of several separate stocks, is dictated by the dynamics of specific companies. The forex market, however, is influenced by macroeconomic trends that usually take years to unfold.

These trends usually develop in the major Forex pairs and commodity currencies.

It is essential for anyone aspiring to be a successful forex trader to have a proven trading strategy. Many experienced traders use strategies that are based on trends. Here is where currency pairs come into play.

There are some strategies that work best with specific currency pairs that trend well together, so it is essential to apply a trading strategy to the an appropriate currency pair. For example, a range-bound currency pair (such as the USD/KRW) is not worth monitoring, because it would yield little result, regardless of the trading strategy. A trader's success highly depends on the list of currency pairs they have created to focus their trading strategy on.

Let's have a look at the major currency pairs that offer different spreads, volatility and other characteristics that can make them attractive to traders analyzing trends:

• USD/EUR – This pair is often considered the most commonly chosen currency pair. Additionally, it also has the lowest spread with most modern Forex brokers around the world. Traders often associate this Forex pair with basic technical analysis. One of the best things about to the USD/EUR pair is that it's not extremely volatile. If you are just starting out and are not ready to take on a large risk, choosing this pair to start trading may not be a bad idea as it may not cause as much doubt in your mind as the other currency pairs. As this pair is extremely popular, there is a lot of information about it available to you that can help you avoid making some of the most common mistakes beginner traders make.
• USD/GBP – Large jumps and pips that can be profitable have helped make this currency pair one of the most popular. However, it is important for any trader to remember that greater profits come with higher risk. The USD/GBP pair can be considered a part of the volatile currency group. However, many traders choose this currency pair because there is a wealth of market analysis on it, available online.
• USD/JPY – This currency pair is another one of the most popular currency pairs in the world of currency trading. It is well known for having lower spreads, and you it usually sets out a smooth trend, compared to other Forex pairs. Basically, it can deliver exciting and profitable moments for traders.

All the most common currency pairs that can be found in the modern Forex markets offer tight spreads, except the USD/GBP currency pair. With a proven trend strategy and thorough analysis, each of these currency pairs offer different opportunities for traders.

Beyond trend strategy, the most effective way to avoid the immense risks that trading entails is to exercise risk management while you trade, so you can minimize your losses.

Conclusion

Being able to make FX predictions is not an easy trick, and it will not allow you to get rich quickly with Forex. It requires constant analysis of the market, and good skills in exploiting different kinds of approaches and trading software. Here we have talked about the different ways of predicting the Forex market, the role of the concept in general trading, and what benefits a trader can gain when using the best Forex prediction indicator. By reviewing the most important types of Forex analysis, we hope to have provided you with an idea of what they stand for, and their further appliance in Forex trading. Whilst technical and fundamental analysis are quite different, you can still benefit from using them both simultaneously.

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This material does not contain and should not be construed as containing investment advice, investment recommendations, an offer of, or recommendation for, any transactions in financial instruments. Please note that such trading analysis is not a reliable indicator for any current or future performance, as circumstances may change over time. Before making any investment decisions, you should seek advice from independent financial advisors to ensure you understand the risks.