Nobody will ever claim that Forex trading is simple. The volatility of the market combined with some of the complex mathematics associated with the act of trading will test even the veteran trader. In this post I will give you a brief overview of signals.
Signals are mathematical predictors that indicate whether an investor should buy or sell. Proper use of these indicators can clue an investor in on potential sudden rises or falls in the market. Traders use about three types of signals when making trading decisions.
A Forex average is essentially the sum of prices divided by the number of prices. If you want to calculate prices for the last week we would look at the prices for the last five days. Let’s pretend those prices are 210, 211, 214, 215, and 200. The average for that period is 210. Then the next day the price is 205. We drop the number from the first day and add the new price for an average of 209. So we simply observe that the average moved from 210 to 209… a moving average. The moving average convergence-divergence signal uses the moving average and a specified trigger line to signal a change in the market.
The Relative Strength Index is a signal that measures upward and downward movements in the market. The RSI is a ratio calculated to a range between zero and 100. To simplify, if the RSI for some currency pair goes above 70, the currency is called “over bought”. If it moves below 30 it is called “over sold”.
Stochastic Oscillators are used to chart the same phenomena observed in the Relative Strength indicators. The chart is comprised of a %K line and a %D line. As with the RSI, when one of these lines crosses a certain threshold it indicates a strong signal to buy or sell.
If this all makes your head spin… don’t worry. Savvy traders have made the move to technology. Software simplifies the forex trading process. The Stealth Trading System that I promote here will help you make the right decisions without having to learn the mathematics behind the signals that tell you when to make your move.
