Trading :05/20/2008- 86 Pips Gained.

Sorry being quite busy for the last couple of weeks. An update; i lost 86 pips 2 weeks ago based on the news about the Feds dilly-dallying on what to do on the interest rates. I blame all this on not my so called quick thinking. I bought EUR/USD @ 1.5600 and it tumbled down to almost 1.54. I thought that it would rise but that never happened. So its not true that whatever comes down always goes up. So i have been taking a break and made a trade on 05/20/08/ Bought EUR/USD and gained 86 pips after 6 hours. This time i was ready to cut my loses.

Lesson: Always set your limits to avoid any loses.

Plans: I plan to look into trading other currency pairs particularly the USD/CHF, USD/GBP and UDS/JPY. With the economy behaving this way i guess currency trading can be a way to make some money if you know what you are doing.

 

Lost 76 Pips: Why market news matter

Today was a bad day. Lost 76 pips on buying the EUR/USD. The lesson learned here is that you need to know how market data affects the forex market. I could have cut my loses at a limit of 30 pips but i held on till i realized that the markets are holding on. The Federal reserve will be meeting  and there are indications that they will pause cutting interest rates and this should rebound the dollar against major currencies. Right now the EUR/USD is 1.5565 the lowest i have seen since December 2007.

Lessons: Follow market data and economic forecasts. Always set limits; 30-40 pips. I mean in 3 hours i had lost 80 pips.

Predictions: If the Fed Reserve indicates they are willing to further cut down interest rates which i think they will then am willing to put in a buy order. Lets wait and see what happens but its so easy to lose 40 pips in a heart beat. This is not for the faint hearted.

 

Sunday Trades

Sunday is not the best day to trade but 1 have made 8 trades at the moment:

1. Bought 1 lot EUR/USD at 1.5626. I have stop limits of 1.5590. Went up to 1.5662 a gain of 24 pips; held on and then dropped and i closed at 1.5640 and gained 14 pips.

2.Sold 1 lot USD/JPY at 104.71. I have stop limits of 105.00 Closed at 104.60 and gained 9 pips.

3.Sold 1 lot EUR/USD at 1.5640. Placed initial limits at 1.5650, 1.5600 and closed 1.5629 for a gain of 11 pips.

4. Bought 2 lots of EUR/USD at 1.5630. Rose to 1.5650 and i held on. Had to watch some TV and set my stop limit at 1.5630 and guess what; it got triggered for a 0 gain. So now gain or loss: 0 pips.

5.Sold 1 lot EUR/USD at 1.5630 which i closed immediately after 1 minute since this was a bad trade per the candlesticks. Lost 2 pips.

5. Bought 2 lots EUR/USD at 1.5636 and closed at 1.5666. Bad mistake since it rose 5 minutes later to 1.5685. Patience pays and i was trying to protect my gains. Gained 30 pips.

6. Sold 2 lots USD/JPY at 104.50. Currently its the only position i have and trying to hold on atleast break even since i am down 8 pips. Closed it with a loss of 1 pip. Had to go sleep.

Summary: Gained 64 pips overall and lost about 5 pips. Main lesson is CONCENTRATION. My concentration was about 30% since i was multi-tasking. Traded for 6 hours. Could have possibly made 200 pips. Next trade will increase concentration to 60% and see what happens.

Rule 1: Concentrate and trade like its your real money. There is no easy money but discipline and educating yourself. And as i said; margin should be 10:1 and thats my goal when i start using real money.

 

Forex Newbie

Been reading and studying Forex markets. Great resources out there including my favorite babypips.com that gives great lessons for beginners. I would say i have learned 60% and trying to get 100%.Its not that easy as it sounds but slowly by slowly i will get there. The rule is “NEVER USE REAL MONEY TILL YOU ARE SURE”. For my demo i will use FXsolutions.com  GTS system. The leverage is 100:1 but if i have to plunge into the real thing i will maintain my leverage at 10:1. So for the next 2 months i will trade using my demo account plus study more of the markets. I will share my limited knowledge of the forex plus what i learn and hopefully i can ascend into the role world. Its not easy but with dedication i can get there. Good luck and join me in this process.