Rally Time

You know what day it is?  NFP - Non Farm Pay Roll Reports.  First Friday of every month.   It can be a roller coaster so if you're a newbie, stay out!

MT4 News Calendar Indicator

For those of you that have been using Metatrader 4 for a while, you will remember there were many MT4 News Calendar Indicators. With MT5 of course there is a built in function to show news.

The most popular MT4 News Calendar was the FFCal News Indicator.

What made it really stand out is that it's an indicator, so if you are crafty, you can modify the indicator and use it in your expert advisors, scripts, or just modify the indicator to your liking.

Unfortunately with the new release of Metatrader 5, the folks at MetaQuotes Software started modifying the MT4 builds and broke this indicator.    Support for it stopped and there was one other choice that surfaced, the NewsCal-v107.  It was good but source code was not available, so you had to use it as is, with it quirks and short comings.  Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT indicator.

The good news is that thanks to rod178 at ForexFactory, I got my hands on source code for a working MT4 FFCal News Calendar called "CalendarFX-I" and started making enhancements.

You can find the MT4 News Calendar mq4 and ex4 files here:

 CalendarFX-I-A16.ex4  

 CalendarFX-I-A16.mq4  

 

For the latest release check this Foum for new versions of CalendarFX-I:

http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?p=8256565#post8256565

Kudos to traderathome, deVries, qFish, atstrader, rod178 for creating and keeping the FFCal News Indicator alive!

Handy MT4 Indicator - NewsCal-AddOn

If you are using the NewsCal-v1.07 Indicator then like me you might be frustrated that the source code is not available.

Here is a sample NewsCal-AddOn Indicator that you can use to read the NewsCal-v1.07 display.  It creates a label for upcoming important news like ECB, FOMC, and NFP.

Feel free to modify the indicator or add to your own code.

Download the Indicator here:
NewsCal-AddOn.ex4    NewsCal-AddOn.mq4

For the latest version check here:
http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=326551&page=15

The Best Time to Trade Forex

So you are trading or thinking about trading Forex.   Perhaps you have a busy schedule and can't seem to be there for the big moves.

What is The Best Time To Trade Forex?

Forex Market Hours (Eastern Time GMT -5)
Copyright www.forexmarkethours.com
 

Well, when do you have time to trade?   That would be the best time.    Granted if you can only trade in what I call the "dead zone" when the US market closes and there is a break until the Asian Session opens, you might say you cannot trade.

Dead Zone

Where there is a will there is way...   If you are unable to make a live trade then start thinking bigger picture and entry orders.   You could study the technical (and fundamentals) to determine possible "future" trades.  Either wait and monitor for those conditions, set up Alerts to notify you, use EAs to notify you (or trade), or use entry orders.   I remember a time where I started trading and my Forex Coaches didn't even know how to use entry orders (they only knew what they knew) and I ended up using them quite successfully by studying technical patterns and determining possible entry points.

Asian Session

The Asian session is said to be the slowest session and the Japanese Yen Pairs are known to have the most volatility and swings.   (Translation, use a bigger Stop Loss, and Take Profit).   It is not for beginners.    Is it for you?  It might be. There are many successful traders that prefer this session.

European Session

The European session obviously favors European Currency Pairs and does overlap with the Asian session as well as the US Session.   The latter, the end of the European Session and start of the US Session does see the most volatility and is a favorite amongst traders.  Beginners are advised to close their trades or lock in their profits (set Stop Loss to Break Even or a profit) prior to the US Session open due to volatility and upcoming US News.

US Session

The US Session Open is the most heavily traded session.  Whenever there is US News, the Forex Market moves.   Add to that the end of the European session and you have yourself a great session.  Careful though. The news can quickly see your profits tumble.   Beginners are advised to trade 1 to 2  hours after news releases.

Events 

In addition to Session Times, you should pay attention to the following:

• Public Holidays - US, Europe
• Festive Seasons - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter
• News Releases - High Impact, see www.ForexFactory.com
• US FOMC Meetings - High Impact
• EU ECB Meetings - High Impact
• Rate Decisions - All Currencies
• US NFP (Non-Farm Payroll Report) - every first Friday of the Month
• Breaking World News
• Vacation Times - Traders need to take a break too. 
• Lunch Times - Traders need to eat too.
• Football World Cup - Traders love Soccer!

Day of Week

There is an old saying, never buy a car that was made on a Monday or Friday.  The thinking behind it is that Mondays people are getting back to work, after a weekend, and are just getting back into work mode.  And on Fridays people are ready to call it quits and enjoy the weekend.

The Forex Market too in my experience has the Monday blues, that is it is slow to start and finding direction.   On Fridays traders are exiting positions or taking more risk.

I have to admit I am guilty of sometimes trading Monday or Friday.  Sometimes successfully, but more often than not I make bad trades or set myself up for a lousy weekend.  Nothing worse than having a great week and then having your profits disappear on your last trade before the weekend.

Forex Market Hours

So what times do these session start, stop, and overlap?  Have a look at the Forex Market Hours website.   It adjusts based on daylight savings time and gives you a nice graphical overview.  To be honest, I still use it from time to time as I travel a lot and like to get a visual of the market hours in my local time, wherever, whenever.



Forex Market Hours (Eastern Time GMT -5)
Copyright www.forexmarkethours.com

Rice Pudding

I remember as a kid growing up Friday's were always special.  My elementary school in Vienna Austria would have something sweet for lunch.   Rice Pudding was my favorite.  I still haven't found anything like it.  It was thick, creamy, had clumps of goodness and freshly shaved Milka chocolate on top.  I lived for Friday's.

These days I live for Sunday's.  Because that is my "Free Day" and I can eat whatever I want.  Monday to Saturday I stick to very healthy organic home made foods.   So when it comes to cooking, healthy or not, I find myself either buying too many groceries or missing a couple ingredients to perfect that dish I've been looking forward to. 

I have been giving that a lot of food today and that had me thinking back to my childhood and that Rice Pudding that I can't get out of my head.   And I also remembered having a set menu at school.   Friday's were always our sweet days.   Other days were less exciting for me but nonetheless the routine was there.  So I have now adapted it to my cooking at home.   I have my google calendar filled in with what I will cook, thereby making my shopping easy. 

You might think it's boring, but it's actually exciting because I look forward to my meals and I can plan ahead and get all the ingredients I need.

In other words I have streamlined my cooking routine, and made it fun.

What does this have to do with Trading the Forex Market?

A few things.  First off you need to establish a routine.  You need to make that routine enjoyable and learn to love it.  You need to plan ahead.  And you need to give yourself something to look forward to, like Rice Pudding, or perhaps a nice meal out.  A beer.  Whatever gets you excited.

You need to review your calendar.  Set alarms if you have to, to remind you.  For example for FOMC, NFP, ECB, etc.  I use an Android App for that.   Sometimes as I'm trading or doing whatever it is that's on my agenda, I want to ensure I don't forget about an upcoming news event.

I also like to have a routine that gets me into trading on Monday and gets me to slow down on Friday.   Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday are my prime trading days.

And as for all those other todos and things you have on the go?  Do yourself a favor and start planning for those too.  An organized person makes a great trader.  When your personal life is in order then trading becomes a breeze because you can focus on it.  Like a professional athlete that needs to be ready for the big match. No distractions.  Focused. In the zone.   His sh!t in order and ready to rock.

Get organized and enjoy the week ahead!

The Week Ahead

I remember back when I was working as a management consultant.  The weekend seemed to always just fly by.   Nowadays I sometimes forget what day of the week it is.   There is however one ritual that remains the same.  It wasn't always this way, but I realized it's important to stick to it.

Every Sunday I plan "The Week Ahead".   As a management consultant I would do a quick stock take of what clients I'm going to see.  Will I be going to the office or driving to my client site, how far is it, what is my goal.   Sunday night for that reason was somewhat depressing, haha, the weekend had just arrived and already I had to try and get to bed early.

That routine seemed to be the same flying all over Canada, the US, as well as living in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland.    I think we all have that dreaded Sunday routine.

When you start trading full time you tend to have more time on your hands and one constant stays the same.  The Week Ahead.

Sure you could do without it.  You could just get up Monday morning and wing it.   You might even do well.  Mentally preparing the week ahead gives you an edge, a piece of mind.  And it lets you plan your week somewhat.

The most important thing to plan ahead is the Economic Calendar.  What's coming up on Monday and all the days after that.   It's also a good time to do technical analysis on your favorite pair(s).   I try to stick to one or two.  Sure I can trade them all however I find focusing on just one keeps my mind clear and focused.  And of course I can still dabble on some other trades on the fly.

Monday I typically view as my getting back into trading mode day.   Back in the day as a management consultant this was typically the day I would shake hands, kiss babies, have some meetings, and plan the week ahead.  Nowadays I do Yoga first thing Monday morning, then surf the net, do some research, download some TV shows, and tune into the market just to see what's going on.   My trading I like to keep to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.   You've probably heard the saying "Don't Buy a Car that was made on a Monday or Friday"  or  "Never fire someone on a Monday or Friday".  It's psychology.  Monday's are getting back into the swing of thing days, not much gets done and we aren't at our peak until Tue/Wed/Thr and once Friday roles around we are already approaching weekend mode.

The Market is no different.   Mondays typically set the direction.   Like a race horse out of the gates, you can't gauge it's potential just yet.  You have to wait until a lap and see how it stacks up with the others.  Depending on the News and Market Sentiment Tuesday typically confirms the direction and then one is able to get a better feel of where the market is headed and if it's trade-able.  Friday is somewhat of a write off as most people close their positions and that creates some volatility that can make you think twice about ever trading again on  Friday.

That's the way I see it.  Perhaps Mondays and Fridays are your best times to trade.   To each their own.  All that matters is that you're planning for the week ahead and you're consistently making profitable trades.

Have a great week ahead!

FOMC, NFP, ECB - The Dangerous Three

The most dangerous three acronyms you need to watch for are:

• FOMC - US Federal Open Market Committee
• NFP - US Non Farm Payroll - First Friday Every Month
• ECB - European Central Bank

Why?  During these news releases you can anticipate great volatility.  If you're in a trade, exit at least an hour before.  On the day of any of these events you might as well make it a holiday.

Of course if you are a news trader then this is your money making time.  Personally I find these events too painful to trade.  Sometimes there is a lot of waiting around for nothing.  Other times you get false breakouts.  Slippage.  In the past while living in Canada I could never get up early enough to trade these events with a conscious and clear mind.  Just too damn early for me. I don't function at peak capacity.   Now that I'm in Thailand I just can't be bothered as I am making consistent profit with my proven strategies.  But who knows, maybe one day I'll work on a News Trading Strategy that I like.