Cable is grinding its way sideways at the moment, leaving short-term traders with little to lean on. This could change soon, but it’s unclear yet in what direction and to what extent. There is some hesitancy to get too geared up right now given it is August, and in the absence of a major catalyst markets could stay quiet.

The 4-hr chart may provide a decent little wedge scenario with a day or two more of narrowing price action. The descending wedge below meaningful resistance around the 14000-line may mean we are in for more weakness ahead.

A clean break below 13872 is needed first before running with a more aggressive short bias. The pattern could still trigger to the top-side by breaking the falling trend-line that makes up the pattern, but GBP/USD will need to climb through 14000 if it is to have any real meaning.

In ‘wait-and-see’ mode for now, but a short-term trade may be nearing if a wedge can continue to form out and trigger with conviction.

The weekend rally in the cryptocurrency space saw Ethereum break above $3k with ease, while Bitcoin briefly traded above $45k for the first time since mid-May as buyers dominated price action. While the market has since drifted lower into a consolidation phase, the outlook for cryptocurrencies remains positive for the weeks ahead. Bitcoin is just above a prior zone of resistance around $43.5k, while Ethereum’s price action is following the late February/early April chart pattern that pushed ETH to hit a $4,380 high five weeks later.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) Looking to Push Higher as Support Levels Hold

Bitcoin’s recent 50%+ rally is now testing the 200-day simple average and this may well temper any further gains in the short-term. A break and close above this indicator would allow BTC to test the $47k level before $50k comes into play.

Ethereum’s current daily chart action is showing a lot of similarities to the consolidation to breakout price...

Last week was a big one for the US Dollar and this week shifts the spotlight back onto inflation.

It was two weeks ago at the July FOMC rate decision that Chair Powell continued to shrug off inflation worries. He kept mentioning employment as the sore spot, and said that this was the main component that needed to see ‘significant further progress’ before the bank would move to normalize policy. This announcement helped to push equities up to another fresh all-time-high along with a weaker US Dollar that finally caught some element of support on the final trading day of July.

Last week saw those worries about employment continue all the way into Wednesday, at which point a very negative ADP report helped to bring USD-weakness back, with the Greenback once again engaging with that support zone running from 91.82-91.93.

But that’s about the time that the pivot happened: FOMC Vice Chair Richard Clarida was speaking in an interview on Wednesday morning, and...

Markets were relatively quiet this past trading week, though there were some bouts of volatility. Major stock indices continued to oscillate higher with the Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 each gaining about 1% on balance and notching new all-time highs. Arguably most eye-catching was the ASX 200, however, given its 6% rally on the week. This came on the heels of some stabilization in recent selling pressure across neighboring Chinese equities. And while the latest RBA decision revealed that the central bank intends to forge ahead with taper plans, confidence in medium-term outlook seemed to spur investor risk appetite.

The Bank of England gave its own monetary policy update that struck a similarly hawkish tone. In fact, the BoE announced a reduction to its policy interest rate threshold for further unwinding its balance sheet. This helped fuel Pound Sterling strength against most FX peers like the Euro, Yen, and US Dollar. GBP price action surrendered gains to its...

EUR/GBP is back on track and has finally managed to break below 0.85. The pair had been sticking firmly to a descending channel since mid-April but got side-tracked three weeks ago when the Pound suffered a bearish run on the back of the highly expected “freedom day” leaving investors with questions about the resurgence of new cases in the UK.

EUR/GBP Daily chart

But momentum quickly corrected and EUR/GBP was back to its channel pattern, although the pair was struggling to break below 0.85. And once again the Bank of England had delivered, being able to deliver a positive outlook without sparking a hawkish response in the markets, which has seen the Pound strengthen against the Euro. One of the key takeaways from the meeting was the reduction in the threshold set to start reducing asset purchases, brought down to 0.5% from 1.5% as the bank had realised that reducing the balance sheet would likely not happen if the rate was set so high, showing willingness from...

Crude oil prices continue its downtrend as Brent and WTI drop 3.5%, meaning that oil prices are down near enough 10% since the beginning of the month. The spread of the Delta variant remains a concern and increasingly so for Asia. Chinese authorities completed mass testing in Wuhan following recent outbreaks, while China have also imposed domestic travel restrictions in medium to high risk regions, a worrying sign for the crude oil outlook.

The ISM manufacturing index plays an important role in forex trading, with ISM data influencing currency prices globally. As a result, the ISM manufacturing, construction and services indicators can provide unique opportunities for forex traders, which makes understanding this data (and how to prepare for its monthly release) essential.

Talking points:

The bull flag pattern is a great pattern to add to a forex trader’s technical arsenal. Explosive moves are often associated with the bull flag. This article will look at the potentially higher probability forex trading opportunities of the bull flag pattern.

Learn to trade the bull flag pattern: Main talking points??

Double top patterns are noteworthy technical trading structures to learn and integrate into a trader’s arsenal. Double tops can enhance technical analysis when trading both forex or stocks, making the pattern highly versatile in nature.

Double Top Pattern: Main Talking Points:

It’s not uncommon for forex traders to approach trading with the aim of collecting ‘x’ many pips a day from the market. Some may even consider adopting a strategy that only makes X amount of pips per day. However, there are complications that arise from this approach and setting such unrealistic goals.

This article will answer the question: “how many pips per day?” and explore the best approach to using pips – considering market fluctuations which affect daily pip movements and how to capitalise on this with a solid trading strategy.

Knowing how to accurately value a stock enables traders to identify and take advantage of opportunities in the stock market. Stock valuation, also referred to as ‘equity valuation’, provides the framework for traders to identify when a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. The difference between a stock’s market value and its intrinsic value presents traders with an opportunity to benefit from this disparity.

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Recessions can devastate the economy and disrupt the fortunes of individuals, businesses, and investors. But economic decline in the business cycle is inevitable, and your trading chops can be defined by how you respond to crisis. In this piece, we’ll address what a recession is, what causes it and how traders and investors can navigate turbulent times to emerge stronger for the upturn.

A recession is a period of reduced economic activity in the business cycle, representing contractions that can fall across a combination of GDP, retail sales, manufacturing, employment, and more. Usually, the term is applied when GDP sees two or more consecutive quarters of decline.

Recessions are inevitable in the business cycle, which moves in peaks and troughs. This means that, as sure as there is a bull run, there will be a correspondent downturn as economies fall from their peak.

Recessions can be caused by particular patterns across a range of...

Our DNA FX quiz can tell you what type of forex trader is buried within your DNA. Simply answer the 14 questions honestly to learn which style of forex trading you are best suited for.

If you’re new to forex trading the results will help you develop your trading style and strategies, but even established traders might discover something about themselves they weren’t aware of…

Japanese candlesticks are a popular charting technique used by many traders, and the shooting star candle is no exception. This article will cover the shooting star reversal pattern in depth?and how to use it to trade forex.

The ISM manufacturing index plays an important role in forex trading, with ISM data influencing currency prices globally. As a result, the ISM manufacturing, construction and services indicators can provide unique opportunities for forex traders, which makes understanding this data (and how to prepare for its monthly release) essential.

Talking points:

Throughout history there have been a number of extremely meaningful volatility spikes across major financial markets. Each had defining characteristics that made them similar, despite occurring in very different markets and for different reasons.

The continuity seen across these volatility cycles is a good thing, because while it doesn’t necessarily make a major volatility spike predictable, historical precedence offers a blueprint for identifying conditions that are supportive for a potential vol-event to occur, and how they are likely to unfold once in motion. This can be of great help in guiding trading decisions, whether that is to steer clear of a potential vol blow-up or move towards it with the appropriate strategy that can take advantage of the outsized price swings that come with unusual levels of volatility.

We will first discuss what a volatility event typically looks like in terms of the behavior of volatility itself, then take a close look at...

There’s a strong correlation between interest rates and forex trading. Forex is ruled by many variables, but the interest rate of the currency is the fundamental factor that prevails above them all.

Simply put, money attempts to follow the currency with the highest real interest rate. The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate less inflation.

Forex traders must keep an eye on each country’s central bank interest rate and more importantly, when it is expected to change, to forecast moves in currencies.

This article will cover forex interest rates in depth, touching upon:

Many people are attracted to forex trading due to the amount of leverage that brokers provide. Leverage allows traders to gain more exposure in financial markets than what they are required to pay for. Traders of all levels should have a solid grasp of what forex leverage is and how to use it responsibly. This article explains forex leverage in depth, including how it differs to leverage in stocks, and the importance of risk management.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) economic data is deemed highly significant in the forex market. GDP figures are used as an indicator by fundamentalists to gauge the overall healthand potential growth of a country.Consequently, greater volatility in the forex market is closely observed during the GDP release.

“Is there a best time frame to trade forex?” is a common question a lot of traders ask, especially those new to the forex market. The truth is, there is no single answer. It all depends on your preferred trading strategy and style.

Traders utilize varying time frames to speculate in the forex market. The two most common are long- and short-term-time frames which transmits through to trend and trigger charts. Trend charts refer to longer-term time frame charts that assist traders in recognizing the trend, whilst trigger chart pick out possible trade entry points. This article will explore these forex trading time frames in depth, whilst offering tips on which can best serve your trading goals.

Talking points:

FOMO – Fear of Missing Out - is a relatively recent addition to the English language, but one that is intrinsic to our day-to-day lives. A true phenomenon of the modern digital age, FOMO affects 69% of millennials, but it can also have a significant bearing upon trading practices.

For instance, the feeling of missing out could lead to the entering of trades without enough thought, or to closing trades at inopportune moments because it’s what others seem to be doing. It can even cause traders to risk too much capital due to a lack of research, or the need to follow the herd. For some, the sense of FOMO created by seeing others succeed is only heightened by fast-paced markets and volatility; it feels like there is a lot to miss out on.

To help traders better understand the concept of FOMO in trading and why it happens, this article will identify potential triggers and how they can affect a day trader’s success. It will cover key examples and what a typical day...