The fundamentals

The fundamentals are important long term - but in the short term prices are determined by the greed and fear of the investors, it's what they all think as group that determines price.

Many traders think because human nature is constant, there is a scientific theory of market movement - but of course there isn't. If there was, we would all know the price in advance and there would be no market at all.

Forex is an odds game and your aim is to trade high odds set ups, when the patterns of forex price movement dictate you should and the best way to do this is to use a simple robust trend following forex trading system.

Forex charts show you the supply and demand situation (they simply assume that all fundamentals show up in price action) but they do so something more - they tell you how all the investors perceive them.

Forex charting and technical analysis is not a science, it's an art. You're in fact, playing a similar role to a good poker player. You are looking to bet big on high odds sets, fold ones that don't go right and pass by low odds set ups.

Just like the poker player, you won't win every hand - but if you play the odds, you can win more than you lose and make a lot of money.

Forex charting is easy to learn and if you make it part of your forex education, you can learn it in about 2 weeks and get a robust forex trading strategy together which, you can apply in around 30 minutes a day.

Fundamental traders

Fundamental traders analyze key economic data, including news and government reports, to evaluate trading opportunities. They believe that currency exchange rates are affected primarily by economic and political conditions, and occasionally by central banks intervening in the currency markets in an attempt to influence the value of their currencies.

Some of the key figures tracked by fundamental traders include interest rates, inflation, trade balance, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), CPI (Consumer Price Index), PPI (Producer Price Index), capacity utilization, factory orders, durable goods orders, inventories, and employment statistics. They are also constantly evaluating the potential impact of military conflicts, natural disasters, and changes in political leadership.

Another factor that often influences trading decisions is market sentiment. Traders often read news, analyst reports, and Web site bulletin boards to get a sense of the general market sentiment and then trade either with or against that sentiment.