Becoming an Expert Forex Trader by Knowing How to Use an Economic Calendar

The Forex trading industry is a highly competitive one. There are people who have been working in the field for years and still have not figured out a way to consistently predict the direction of currencies. If you are new to forex, you will want to know about an economic calendar and how to make the best use of them to make money.

Why you need them

The economic calendar is not just another calendar with dates and a list of events. It tells you:

• When important events are going to occur
• Which ones will impact forex rates the most
• When certain important announcements are going to be made

The professional forex traders use these calendars to:

• Consider various economic and political factors that will influence forex trading
• Get advanced information about the direction of a particular currency pair
• Understand current events better so they can make better forex decisions in the future

Economic calendars will not make you a millionaire with forex, but they are a valuable tool that will provide you with valuable information and insights to help you reach your goals.

Using a calendar

When you see such a calendar for the first time, you will be overwhelmed with the amount of data you have. There are literally thousands of events every week, so how do you know which ones you need to keep an eye on.

Here are a few ways to use the calendar:

• Make a list of events that are most likely to affect the forex rates of a particular country
• You can find this information from various new sources
• Eliminate those events that you think will have little impact on forex
• Check out blogs from forex experts and well-known economists to hints on which events to focus on more

Even the most seasoned forex traders cannot predict 100% which events will have the most significant impact on currency rates between two countries. However, we you get more and more experienced, you will get deeper insights into how two unrelated events can heavily influence forex rates.

Important releases

As a rule, here are some of the announcements and reports that routinely influence foreign exchange rates between the US and other countries:

• Consumer confidence index
• Consumer credit report
• Consumer price index
• Durable goods report
• Employment situation report
• Existing home sales report
• Jobless claims report
• Mutual fund flows
• Money supply

All of these are important markers of the health of the American economy. Even if the overall trend goes one way or another, you can track every report to come up with decent predictions by following them closely. You can then use the insights gained in order to invest smartly in forex and gain healthy profits.

ForexMinute is one of the best online resources for Forex traders, and we also offer some of the most useful trading tools like the best economic calendar. Please visit our website to access the best trading tools.

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5 Advantages of Forex Trading With a Respectable Broker

Trading has significantly evolved in recent years to make it more accessible to anyone that wishes to get involved. One type of trading that is often underrated is Forex. Here are a few of the main benefits of Forex trading:

Accessibility

Forex trading is relatively easy to get into. A great benefit is the ability to start trading with a minimal amount of capital. For the first-time traders that are just starting out, it is possible to start trading the different currencies with a bank in the region of $100-$150. This is significantly lower than other activities such as stocks which often need a bank of at least $10,000 to get started.

Liquidity

Forex is based on trading currencies, which makes it a very liquid market. The market is open on a 24/5 basis because there is a non-stop demand for money. The long trading hours give the option to set your trading activities to fit within your normal day-to-day schedule. The fast-paced nature of the Forex market means it is possible to complete a trade at any time in normal market conditions.

Trading tools

There are plenty of brokers in the market that offer an all-in-one trading platform that provides everything needed to get started. They use the very latest technology and software for the user-friendly and easy to understand trading environment. There are many third-party supplies that develop extra features and extensions. In addition to the PC based trading platform, the latest software tools are also made for iOS and Android devices for the complete on-the-go trading experience.

Demo accounts

Most brokers give clients access to an unrestricted demo account to fully test the services offered and perform practice trades before using real money. This gives the option to trade currencies in a real market environment without the risk of losing money from your bank. The demo accounts with no restrictions on time limit are preferred because they make it possible to continue practice trading until fully ready.

Educational resources

A further feature of using a reliable broker is the ability to get access to a wide range of educational tools and resources. This can include helpful guides, webinars and videos that give instruction on the best practices for trading.

Are there risks involved?

Forex is a major financial market, which can experience a certain degree of volatility. In many situations high volatility can be beneficial for the trader, but there is the risk of substantial losses if this is combined with high leverage.

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Tips on How To Read Forex Charts

Charts are very important in Forex exchange as they aid in monitoring the rate change of the currencies that you are trading. There are many types of charts that you can use in monitoring the change:

Line Chart

A line chart draws a line from one closing price to the next closing price. When you string the lines together you are able to see the movement of the currency pair over a period of time.

Bar Chart

This one is a little bit complex and it shows the opening and closing prices. It also shows the highs and lows of the trade. The bottom of the vertical bar shows the lowest traded price while the top of the bar shows the highest price paid.

Candlestick

This is the most popular chart used in Forex trading. The main function of this chart is to serve as a visual aid. There are many reasons why candlestick charts are common: they are easy to use, interpret and are excellent tools in helping you in identifying the market turning point.

If you are a beginner you are on the lucky side as the chart comes with cool names such as "shooting star" which helps you in remembering what a given pattern means.

How to Read A Forex Chart

Do you want to know how to read a Forex chart? Here are tips on how to go about it:

You should start by locating the chart that you want to analyze and then find a range. Remember that charts show both short periods (such as 12-24 hours) and long periods such as weeks and months. As a beginner, you should start with charts that show short periods.

To easily understand the data presented you should begin with a single data bar. Here you should locate the open and close prices that are indicated by the horizontal "pegs" on the chart bar. If the close rate is higher than the open rate, the rate is definitely trending up. If on the other hand the open rate is higher than the close rate the rate is trending down.

You should note the areas where the chart hits a low for a number of times, but it doesn't drop below a certain rate. These are important places of support where the market forces prevent the rate from plunging.

You should also locate places in the chart where there are several highs in the same range. These places indicate resistance.

You should note that both support and resistance can easily break when there is some external factor such as negative or positive news.

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