If you are a forex day trader or considering it, then you need to know the above facts, if you do they will save you a lot of money. Forex day trading is more popular than ever but how do you make profits? Let’s find out.

If you look online you will find more forex day trading courses than any other type of trading methodology and they will all lose you money here’s why:

Let’s start first of all with the vendors who sell courses

1. Why are they selling them?

To make money for themselves! They don’t normally trade their day trading systems because they know they don’t work.

If these systems could produce regular profits they would be to busy making money for themselves and not have the time to bother you for a few hundred dollars they would be to busy making money.

2. The Evidence That day trading doesn’t work

If you ask for a track record of profits from any of these vendors you won’t get one – What you will normally get is a hypothetical track record of huge gains but this is done in hindsight - KNOWING the closing prices.

If I knew tomorrow’s price today, I would be a multi millionaire but of course forex trading is a bit more difficult - you have to work out where prices are going without knowing them in advance!

These vendors use great advertising copy to dupe people but the logic of day trading simply doesn’t work. Why? Because:

3. All short term volatility is random!

Day traders will claim that it’s not - but of course it is!

Volatility can and does, take prices anywhere in a day and daily support and resistance levels are meaningless. When day traders lose, they blame the system or the indicators they use, however if volatility is random, then it is of course the logic of day trading that is at fault - NOT the indicators.

If you think that you can make money day trading go ahead and try but you will learn a very expensive lesson and lose.

I would love a day trader to prove me wrong and produce a real time track record of gains over the longer term (3 years or more), but have the feeling I will be waiting for a long time.

The belief that you can make money day trading, is one of the biggest myths of forex trading and despite the evidence it doesn’t work, traders still think they can win at it – they can’t.

kelly price

Whether trading stocks, futures, options or FX, traders confront the single most important question: to trade trend or range? And they answer this question by assessing the price environment; doing so accurately greatly enhances a trader's chance of success. Trend or range are two distinct price properties requiring almost diametrically opposed mindsets and money-management techniques. Fortunately, the FX market is uniquely suited to accommodate both styles, providing trend and range traders with opportunities for profit. Since trend trading is far more popular, let's first examine how trend traders can benefit from FX. TrendWhat is trend? The simplest identifiers of trend direction are higher lows in an uptrend and lower highs in a downtrend. Some define trend as a deviation from a range as indicated by Bollinger Band "bands" (see Using Bollinger Band "Bands" to Trade Trend in FX). For others, a trend occurs when prices are contained by an upward or downward sloping 20-period simple moving average (SMA).
Regardless of how one defines it, the goal of trend trading is the same - join the move early and hold the position until the trend reverses. The basic mindset of trend trader is "I am right or I am out?" The implied bet all trend traders make is that price will continue in its present direction. If it doesn't there is little reason to hold onto the trade. Therefore, trend traders typically trade with tight stops and often make many probative forays into the market in order to make the right entry.
By nature, trend trading generates far more losing trades than winning trades and requires rigorous risk control. The usual rule of thumb is that trend traders should never risk more than 1.5-2.5% of their capital on any given trade. On a 10,000-unit (10K) account trading 100K standard lots, that means stops as small as 15-25 pips behind the entry price. Clearly, in order to practice such a method, a trader must have confidence that the market traded will be highly liquid.
Of course the FX market is the most liquid market in the world. With US$1.6 trillion of average daily turnover, the currency market dwarfs the stock and bond markets in size. Furthermore, the FX market trades 24 hours a day five days a week, eliminating much of the gap risk found in exchange-based markets. Certainly gaps sometimes happen in FX, but not nearly as frequently as they occur in stock or bond markets, so slippage is far less of a problem.
High Leverage - Large ProfitsWhen trend traders are correct about the trade, the profits can be enormous. This dynamic is especially true in FX where high leverage greatly magnifies the gains. Typical leverage in FX is 100:1, meaning that a trader needs to put down only $1 of margin to control $100 of the currency. Compare that with the stock market where leverage is usually set at 2:1, or even the futures market where even the most liberal leverage does not exceed 20:1.
It's not unusual to see FX trend traders double their money in a short period if they catch a strong move. Suppose a trader starts out with $10,000 in his or her account, and uses a strict stop-loss rule of 20 pips. The trader may get stopped out five or six times, but if he or she is properly positioned for a large move - like the one in EUR/USD between Sept and Dec 2004 when the pair rose more than 12 cents, or 1,200 pips - that one-lot purchase could generate something like a $12,000 profit, doubling the trader's account in a matter of months.
Of course few traders have the discipline to take stop losses continuously. Most traders, dejected by a series of bad trades tend to become stubborn and fight the market, often placing no stops at all. This is when FX leverage can be most dangerous. The same process that quickly produces profits can also generate massive losses. The end result is that many undisciplined traders suffer a margin call and lose most of their speculative capital.
Trading trend with discipline can be extremely difficult. If the trader uses high leverage he or she leaves very little room to be wrong. Trading with very tight stops can often result in 10 or even 20 consecutive stop outs before the trader can find a trade with strong momentum and directionality.
For this reason many traders prefer to trade range-bound strategies. Please note that when I speak of ‘range-bound trading' I am not referring to the classic definition of the word 'range'. Trading in such a price environment involves isolating currencies that are trading in channels, and then selling at the top of the channel and buying at the bottom of the channel. This can be a very worthwhile strategy, but, in essence, it is still a trend-based idea - albeit one that anticipates an imminent countertrend. (What is a countertrend after all, except a trend going the other way?)
RangeTrue range traders don't care about direction. The underlying assumption of range trading is that no matter which way the currency travels, it will most likely return back to its point of origin. In fact, range traders bet on the possibility that prices will trade through the same levels many times, and the traders' goal is to harvest those oscillations for profit over and over again.
Clearly range trading requires a completely different money-management technique. Instead of looking for just the right entry, range traders prefer to be wrong at the outset so that they can build a trading position.


For example, imagine that EUR/USD is trading at 1.3000. A range trader may decide to short the pair at that price and every 50 pips higher, and then buy it back as it moves every 25 pips down. His or her assumption is that eventually the pair will return to that 1.3000 level again. If EUR/USD rises to 1.3500 and then turns back down hitting 1.3000, the range trader would harvest a handsome profit, especially if the currency moves back and forth in its climb to 1.3500 and its fall to 1.3000.
However, as we can see from this example a range-bound trader will need to have very deep pockets in order to implement this strategy. In this case employing large leverage can be devastating since positions can often go against the trader for many points in a row and, if he or she is not careful, trigger a margin call before the currency eventually turns around.
Solutions for Range TradersFortunately, the FX market provides a flexible solution for range trading. Most retail FX dealers offer mini lots of 10,000 units rather than 100K lots. In a 10K lot each individual pip is worth only $1 instead of $10, so the same hypothetical trader with a $10,000 account can have a stop-loss budget of 200 pips instead of only 20 pips. Even better, many dealers allow customers to trade in units of 1K or even 100-unit increments. Under that scenario, our range trader trading 1K units could withstand a 2,000-pip drawdown (with each pip now worth only 10 cents) before triggering a stop loss. This flexibility allows range traders plenty of room to run their strategies.
In FX, almost no dealer charges commission. Customers simply pay the bid-ask spread. Furthermore, regardless of whether a customer wants to deal for 100 units or 100,000 units, most dealers will quote the same price. Therefore, unlike the stock or futures markets where retail customers often have to pay prohibitive commissions on very small size trades, retail speculators in FX suffer no such disadvantage. In fact a range-trading strategy can be implanted on even a small account of $1,000, as long as the trader properly sizes his or her trades.
ConclusionWhether a trader wants to swing for homeruns by trying to catch strong trends with very large leverage or simply hit singles and bunts by trading a range strategy with very small lot sizes, the FX market is extraordinarily well suited for both approaches. As long as the trader remains disciplined about the inevitable losses and understands the different money-management schemes involved in each strategy, he or she will have a good chance of success in this market. Next month, we'll examine the various currency pairs to determine which ones are best suited for trend strategy and which are best suited for range.

by Boris Schlossberg,

Between 2003 and 2008, the value of the U.S. dollar fell compared to most major currencies. The depreciation accelerated during 2007-2008, impacting both domestic and international investments.
The impact of the rise or fall of the U.S. dollar on investments is multifaceted. Most notably, investors need to understand the effect that exchange rates can have on financial statements, how this relates to where goods are sold and produced, and the impact of raw material inflation.
The confluence of these factors can help investors determine where and how to allocate investment funds. Read on to learn how to invest when the U.S. dollar is weak.
The Home CountryIn the U.S., the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the governing body that mandates how companies account for business operations on financial statements. FASB has determined that the primary currency in which each entity conducts its business is referred to as "functional currency". However, the functional currency may differ from the reporting currency. In these cases, translation adjustments may result in gains or losses, which are generally included when calculating net income for that period.
What does all this technical-speak mean when investing in the U.S. in a falling dollar environment? If you invest in a company that does the majority of its business in the U.S. and is domiciled in the U.S., the functional and reporting currency will be the U.S. dollar. If the company has a subsidiary in Europe, its functional currency will be the euro. So, when the company translates the subsidiary's results to the reporting currency (the U.S. dollar), the dollar/euro exchange rate must be used. For example, in a falling dollar environment, one euro buys $1.54 compared to a prior rate of $1.35. Therefore, as you translate the subsidiary's results into the falling U.S. dollar environment, the company benefits from this translation gain with higher net income.
Why Geography MattersUnderstanding the accounting treatment for foreign subsidiaries is the first step to determining how to take advantage of currency movements. The next step is capturing the arbitrage between where goods are sold and where goods are made. As the U.S. has moved toward becoming a service economy and away from a manufacturing economy, low-cost provider countries have captured those manufacturing dollars. U.S. companies took this to heart and started outsourcing much of their manufacturing and even some service jobs to low-cost provider countries to exploit those cheaper costs and improve margins. During times of U.S. dollar strength, low-cost provider countries produce goods cheaply; companies sell these goods at higher prices to consumers abroad to make a sufficient margin.
This works well when the U.S. dollar is strong; however, as the U.S. dollar falls, keeping costs in U.S. dollars and receiving revenues in stronger currencies - in other words, becoming an exporter - is more beneficial to a U.S. company. Between 2005 and 2008, U.S. companies took advantage of the depreciating U.S. dollar as U.S. exports showed strong growth that occurred as a result of the shrinking of the U.S. current account deficit to an 8-year low of 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) (excluding oil) during 2008. (For background reading, see Current Account Deficits.)However, just to complicate matters slightly, many of the low-cost provider countries produce goods that are unaffected by U.S. dollar movements because these countries "peg" their currencies to the dollar. In other words, they let their currencies fluctuate in tandem with the fluctuations of the U.S. dollar, preserving the relationship between the two. Regardless of whether goods are produced in the U.S. or by a country that links its currency to the U.S., in a falling U.S. dollar environment, costs decline. (For more insight, read Floating And Fixed Exchange Rates.)
Up, Up and Away …The price of commodities related to the value of the dollar and interest rates tends to follow the following cycle:
Interest Rates are Cut Þ U.S. Dollar is Pulled LowerÞ Gold and Commodity Index BottomÞ Interest Rates Turn Up Þ Bonds PeakÞ Stocks Peak Þ Dollar Rises Þ Gold and Commodity Index Peak Þ Interest Rates Peak Þ Bonds Bottom Þ Stocks Bottom Þ Interest Rates are Cut Þ Cycle Begins Again
At times, however, this cycle does not persist and commodity prices do not bottom as interest rates fall and the U.S. dollar depreciates. Such a divergence from this cycle occurred during 2007-2008 as the direct relationship between economic weakness and weak commodity prices reversed. During the first five months of 2008, the price of crude oil was up 20%, the commodity index was up 18%, the metals index was up 24% and the food price index was up 18%, while the dollar depreciated 6%. According to Wall Street research by Jens Nordvig and Jeffrey Currie of Goldman Sachs, the correlation between the euro/dollar exchange rate, which was 1% from 1999-2004, rose to a striking 52% during the first half of 2008. While people disagree about the reasons for this divergence, there is little doubt that taking advantage of the relationship provides investment opportunities. (For related reading, see Forex: Venturing Into Non-Dollar Currencies.)
Profiting From the Falling DollarTaking advantage of currency moves in the short-term can be as simple as investing in the currency you believe will show the greatest strength against the U.S. dollar during your investment timeframe. You can invest directly in the currency, currency baskets or in exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
For a longer-term strategy, investing in the stock market indexes of countries you believe will have appreciating currencies or investing in sovereign wealth funds, which are vehicles through which governments trade currencies, can provide exposure to strengthening currencies.
You can also profit from a falling dollar by investing in foreign companies or U.S. companies that derive the majority of their revenues from outside the U.S. (and of even greater benefit, those with costs in U.S. dollars or that are U.S.-dollar linked).
As a non-U.S. investor, buying assets in the U.S., especially tangible assets, such as real estate, is extremely inexpensive during periods of falling dollar values. Because foreign currencies can buy more assets than the comparable U.S. dollar can buy in the U.S., foreigners have a purchasing power advantage.
Finally, investors can profit from a falling U.S. dollar through the purchase of commodities or companies that support or participate in commodity exploration, production or transportation. (For more on this strategy, read Commodity Prices And Currency Movements.)
ConclusionPredicting the length of U.S. dollar depreciation is difficult because many factors collaborate to influence the value of the currency. Despite this, having insight into the influence that changes in currency values have on investments provides opportunities to benefit both in the short and long-term. Investing in U.S. exporters, tangible assets (foreigners who buy U.S. real estate or commodities) and appreciating currencies or stock markets provide the basis for profiting from the falling U.S. dollar.

by Tina Carleton,

Have you ever heard of a stop placement strategy that trails stop based on previous 'high' points? It is called Chandelier exit as it hangs down from the high point or the ceiling of our trade, just as a chandelier hangs from a room ceiling. The distance, which is usually calculated from the high point to the trailing stop; could also be calculated in dollars or in contract based points. However, the value of this trailing stop moves upward very promptly as higher highs is reached.
The Chandelier Exit, which has a trailing stop from either the highest high of the trade or the highest close of the trade, is best measured in units of Average True Range (ATR). One of the many factors leading to use ATR for measuring the distance from the high to our stop is that, it is pertinent across markets and is adaptive to changes in unpredictability.
The essence of this calculative measure is that, even on expansion and contraction of trading ranges, our stop will automatically adjust and move to the apt level, thereby, constantly staying in tune with changing market conditions. Chandelier Exit is one of the most tried exit methodology used across a varied portfolio of futures markets to generate profitable test results.
It is imperative that the changes in unpredictability can curtail or stretch the distance to the actual stop, since the highs used to hang the Chandelier move only upward. However, in order to witness less fluctuation in the stop distance, you can use a longer moving average to calculate Average True Range. In other ways, shorter moving average is required, in case you want the stop placement to be more adaptive to fluctuating market conditions.
When short averages for the ATR is used; brief periods of small ranges can bring the stops too close, abnormally resulting in premature exit. To avoid this, you can have a short and highly adaptive ATR while calculating a short average and a longer average and using the average that produces the widest stop.
Although Chandelier Exit differs from Channel Exit (which trails a stop based on previous 'low' points), the combination of both, where the trade is initialized by the trailing Channel Exit and then adding the Chandelier Exit, after the price has moved away from the entrance point, will help in making the open trade lucrative. Here the Channel Exit is fastened at a low point and does not move up as new profits are accomplished. At the same time, it is necessary to have the Chandelier Exit at the right position so that the exits are never too far away from the high point of the trade.
The fundamentals behind combining the exit techniques, Channel and Chandelier exit is that, while Channel Exit as a suitable stop that very steadily rises at the commencement of the trade, switching over to Chandelier Exit is necessary to ensure better exit that protects more of our profit. This feature makes Chandelier Exit one of the most sought after rational exits from the profitable trades.

All the foreign exchange trading knowledge in the world is not going to help, unless you have the nerve to buy and sell currencies and put your money at risk. As with the lottery “You gotta be in it to win it”. Trust me when I say that the simple task of hitting the buy or sell key is extremely difficult to do when your own real money is put at risk.
You will feel anxiety, even fear. Here lies the moment of truth. Do you have the courage to be afraid and act anyway? When a fireman runs into a burning building I assume he is afraid but he does it anyway and achieves the desired result. Unless you can overcome or accept your fear and do it anyway, you will not be a successful trader.
However, once you learn to control your fear, it gets easier and easier and in time there is no fear. The opposite reaction can become an issue – you’re overconfident and not focused enough on the risk you're taking.
Both the inability to initiate a trade, or close a losing trade can create serious psychological issues for a trader going forward. By calling attention to these potential stumbling blocks beforehand, you can properly prepare prior to your first real trade and develop good trading habits from day one.
Start by analyzing yourself. Are you the type of person that can control their emotions and flawlessly execute trades, oftentimes under extremely stressful conditions? Are you the type of person who’s overconfident and prone to take more risk than they should? Before your first real trade you need to look inside yourself and get the answers. We can correct any deficiencies before they result in paralysis (not pulling the trigger) or a huge loss (overconfidence). A huge loss can prematurely end your trading career, or prolong your success until you can raise additional capital.
The difficulty doesn’t end with “pulling the trigger”. In fact what comes next is equally or perhaps more difficult. Once you are in the trade the next hurdle is staying in the trade. When trading foreign exchange you exit the trade as soon as possible after entry when it is not working. Most people who have been successful in non-trading ventures find this concept difficult to implement.

For example, real estate tycoons make their fortune riding out the bad times and selling during the boom periods. The problem with trying to adapt a 'hold on until it comes back' strategy in foreign exchange is that most of the time the currencies are in long-term persistent, directional trends and your equity will be wiped out before the currency comes back.
The other side of the coin is staying in a trade that is working. The most common pitfall is closing out a winning position without a valid reason. Once again, fear is the culprit. Your subconscious demons will be scaring you non-stop with questions like “what if news comes out and you wind up with a loss”. The reality is if news comes out in a currency that is going up, the news has a higher probability of being positive than negative (more on why that is so in a later article).
So your fear is just a baseless annoyance. Don’t try and fight the fear. Accept it. Have a laugh about it and then move on to the task at hand, which is determining an exit strategy based on actual price movement. As Garth says in Waynesworld “Live in the now man”. Worrying about what could be is irrational. Studying your chart and determining an objective exit point is reality based and rational.
Another common pitfall is closing a winning position because you are bored with it; its not moving. In Football, after a star running back breaks free for a 50-yard gain, he comes out of the game temporarily for a breather. When he reenters the game he is a serious threat to gain more yards – this is indisputable. So when your position takes a breather after a winning move, the next likely event is further gains – so why close it?
If you can be courageous under fire and strategically patient, foreign exchange trading may be for you. If you’re a natural gunslinger and reckless you will need to tone your act down a notch or two and we can help you make the necessary adjustments. If putting your money at risk makes you a nervous wreck its because you lack the knowledge base to be confident in your decision making.
Patience to Gain Knowledge through Study and Focus
Many new traders believe all you need to profitably trade foreign currencies are charts, technical indicators and a small bankroll. Most of them blow up (lose all their money) within a few weeks or months; some are initially successful and it takes as long as a year before they blow up. A tiny minority with good money management skills, patience, and a market niche go on to be successful traders. Armed with charts, technical indicators, and a small bankroll, the chance of succeeding is probably 500 to 1.
To increase your chances of success to near certainty requires knowledge; acquiring knowledge takes hard work, study, dedication and focus. Compile your knowledge base without taking any shortcuts, thereby assuring a solid foundation to build upon.

Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.

by: Jimmy Young

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision on interest rates is one of the most powerful market movers in the forex market and when the markets move traders trading the news have the opportunity to make money.


The FOMC sets the discount rate or federal funds rate and because interest rates are set higher to induce foreign investment and therefore fight inflation during times of prosperity and lower to increase spending during recessions they are one of the main factors influencing the strength of the dollar.


Economic indicators play a huge role in the forex trading especially for traders who approach the market through fundamental analysis and trade the news. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate decision is one of the most influential indicators for the US dollar and you can be sure after the news is released there is going to be volatility in the markets and volatility is what traders thrive on.


I have heard many 'traders' say never to trade the news and especially the FOMC. Although the FOMC interest decision is a news event and can fall under the category of through fundamental analysis I am a technician and I believe that charts always price everything in. However I guarantee the market does not know what exactly the Feds comments and decision will be, therefore it is not priced in yet and this will cause the markets to react when they do find out. This is confirmed by the change in price after the decision and the continuation in the days following.


I have been trading the Fed for eight years now and yes I have been burnt in the past and that is exactly how I have come to learn how to trade it properly. The most common pattern to trade the Fed is the whip-saw. But do not be fearful of it, embrace it. Here is how it happens, first there is a large spike one direction (traders come in and follow that direction)followed by a large spike in the opposite direction (those same traders now sell their first position at a loss and reverse their position - this is when I take a position in the direction of the original move)followed by an extended move back in the direction of the original spike (all the emotional trades are left sick to their stomachs) and I am left holding a very nice position setting myself up to capture a larger than average market move.


If this pattern does not play out exactly as outlined I stand on the sidelines and do not trade at all. Because the markets are moving fast in the period following the FOMC interest rate decision I am watching a very short time frame, mainly the one and five minute charts.

Finding a Forex broker is a tough process to navigate through and for most people, the necessity of outside assistance is needed. Trying to trade in the Forex market without a broker could lead to devastating results for the normal trader. Similarly, hiring the wrong Forex broker can lead to the same result as trying to muddle through it alone. It is highly important that you be diligent in researching any prospective brokerage firms to handle your financial portfolio.

A good Forex broker will supply you with clients that were successful and can attest to the specific broker's qualifications and success history. Put yourself in that position, would you testify to someone's strengths if they did a poor job for you? Client history testimony should be present in any prospective Forex broker and plentiful to indicate a solid background with trading. You can tentatively assess a lot from a Forex broker with a list of clients that will speak up for the brokerage firm or individual broker. It should be noted that all word of mouth testimony should be taken with a grain of salt and dissected to collect the pertinent information. Testimony should be used in your research to find a Forex broker but should not be the deciding factor.

Another good morsel to test the reliability of any potential Forex broker is the amount of information, literature and lessons that they are willing to give to you. Most Forex brokers are of a high reputation and a solid background however, there are many out there that don't have a good history or no history and it is wise to steer clear of these brokers. You are trying to find a trusted financial advisor and settling for second best, just won't do. The more a potential Forex broker is willing to do for you in the area of helping you understand the Forex trading system, the better quality trader they will be for you.

A good avenue to travel down when seeking a good Forex broker is to ask your acquaintances about Forex brokers and how they met. This can not only give you prospective referrals to great Forex brokers but will also equip you with ideas and resources that you may not have located. If you get a referral from friends, be sure to still research that specific broker and his qualifications before committing to any formal agreement.

The other factor in finding a good Forex broker is the margin of return that is offered. A Forex trading margin used to influence your money and many Forex brokers offer different margins. Finding a Forex broker, who gives a margin of ten to one isn't a very good find so it's worth the time to reinvest in research. Remember that this industry is all about customer service and catering to the clients so if your prospective Forex broker doesn't return your calls within a reasonable time frame it would be advisable to keep searching.