Short S&P500 Position Opened

I have opened an S&P500 short position at 1646.74.  My stop loss order is 1650.84, and my limit order for taking profit is set at 1628.08.

I will post any adjustments I make to my orders. 

If you are interested in finding out more about this trade please feel free to subscribe to the alert service available at TheGold&OilGuy. 


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Short Gold Position Opened and Closed

I shorted gold at $1382.39, placed my stop loss at $1385.64 and my limit order at $1344.36.  The volatile market stopped me out for a 370 pip loss.

For more information about this trade see Gold&Oil Guy Analysis.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Shorting the S&P500

I have shorted the S&P 500 at 1645.86, set my stop order at 1648.74, and my limit order at 1627.69.  For more information on this trade, please see TheGold&OilGuy. 


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Closing S&P500 Short Position

I closed my short S&P500 position at 1631.38 for a 200 pip profit. 

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Closed GBP/USD

Closed the position at a 4 pip loss.


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

S&P 500 Short Postion Opened

I shorted the S&P 500 moments ago at 1633, placed a stop loss order to trigger at 1636.52, and targeting 1625.65.  I don't expect price to come down to this level today, so I will be monitoring price action to decide whether I want to hold it over the long weekend.  Cheers.

For more information on this trade, see the analysis available by subscription at Oil&GoldGuy.
 

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Opening an Intra-Day GBP/USD Position

I bought GBP/USD at $1.55084.  My stop loss is set at $1.54778, and target price for taking profit is set at $1.55430.

Likely another quick one this am.

For more information on this trade see Trading Central available by subscription or available on the Forex.com trading platform.


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

EUR/USD Position Closed in Profit

My EUR/USD position was closed at $1.3319 for a 6 pip profit. 

For more information on this intra-day trade, please see Trading Central, or access it for free on the forex.com trading platform.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

EUR/USD Intra-Day Position Opened

I bought EUR/USD at $1.33185, stop loss is placed at $1.33044 and limit order is placed at $1.33446. 

For more information on this trade, please see the Trading Central Daily Analysis available by subscription or for free on the Forex.com trading platform.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

S&P 500 Intra-Day Trade Update

Sold S&P 500 at 1626.38, and 1629.38 for a 30 pip loss.

Intra-day trades happen very quickly and may not be posted until after the trade has closed because they are monitored closely.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Natural Gas Update

Open and closed a Natural Gas short position this am.  Sold for $3.513, bought back for 3.529 for a 10 pip loss.  

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Closed GBP/USD for Profit

I closed my position for a quick 6.5 pip profit. 

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

GBP/USD Intra-Day Trade Opened

I just went short on the GBP/USD @ $1.554.

My stop loss is set at $1.557, and I am targeting $1.551.

I will be monitoring closely for a potentially quick trade.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Closing GPB/USD Short Position

I have closed the GBP/USD position with a 2.5 pip profit because it is failing to make lower lows.

Good Day Traders.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

EUR/USD Intra-Day Position Stopped Out Yesterday

My EUR/USD position stopped out yesterday for a loss of 30 pips.

I will continue to post which trades are intra-day, which stray from my usual short term trades so those who have preference about whether they hold trades for a few hours or a few days can focus on the ones they are interested in.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

GBP/USD Intra-day Trade Opened

I just shorted GPB/USD @ $1.559, set my stop to $1.562 and my take profit price to $1.556.

If you would like more information on this trade, they can be viewed for free by those who have a trading account with www.forex.com  and use the ForexTraderPro trading platform.  It is located under the "Research and Ideas" tab, ForexFocus icon, and is detailed on the "Daily" report.


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

EUR/USD Intraday Trade Opened

I have gone long with a EUR/USD position.  I bought it at $1.3394, set my Stop Loss to $1.3364, and my take profit was set to $1.3424. 

At the moment the position is down approximately 8 pips.

If you would like more on the strategy behind this position I refer you to Trading Central, a free service for those trading with www.forex.com.


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

GBP/USD Position Opened and Closed

Yesterday I opened a long GBP/USD position at @ $1.56723.  I sold it shortly there after because I had a Natural Gas position open and between the 2 positions I was risking more than 3% of my account.  I did not want to trade these positions aggressively, and so decided to close the GBP/USD position to keep within my trading parameters, and suffered a loss of less than 1 pip. 

If both trades had failed (they didn't, Natural Gas realized a 12 pip profit) I would have lost more than my 1 to 3 percent risk tolerance recommended when trading conservatively.  If I have more than one trade open at the same time I make sure that combined, I am not risking more than 1 to 3%. 

One of the most important things about trading Forex is to keep the amount you risk low.  If you are risking more than 10% of your account, then you will almost certainly lose your investment.  If you are unable to keep the amount you risk between 3 and 5 percent on a regular basis, then I respectfully suggest that you put your money down at the roulette table rather than with Forex.  You may be more interested in the hobby of gambling rather than in the investment opportunities Forex can offer.  Just a thought.  You will make losing trades.  It's a fact.  Don't lose your shirt over it, though, ok?  When I place a trade that doesn't pan out I don't stress about it because I use sound trading strategies and only risk between 1 and 3% of my account balance, or between 3% and 5% for aggressive trades.  Whether you trade conservatively or aggressively is up to you and may be based on a number of factors.  Just be sure you understand the higher risks involved in trading aggressively.    


Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Update on Natural Gas Positions Held Earlier this Month

To keep my blog up-to-date, here is a re-cap of a position I recently held:

On August 20th, I went long on Natural Gas @ $3.452, and I sold it later that day @ $3.473, for a profit of approximately 12 pips (the more accurate gain will be included in my monthly report)

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Update on NATGAS Positions this Month

To keep my blog up-to-date, please note the following Natural Gas position I held earlier this month:

On August 8th I bought NATG @ 3.302 and sold it for 3.262 for a loss of about 25 pips.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Update on Gold Positions Held Earlier this Month

To keep my blog posts up-to-date, here is the information about the gold position I was holding earlier in the month. 

To re-cap, I shorted gold August 6 @ 1283.76, and it was stopped out at 1294.06 the following week.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Update on the S&P

To keep my blog entries up to date, I have a few trades that have since closed that I would like to share:

On August 7, I purchased S&P @ 1683.63, moved stops to break even, and stopped out later day at my purchase price for 0 pips.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Holding Natural Gas

I continue to hang onto my Natural Gas position, currently at about break-even after a bit of an overnight slide.   

I expect resistance at $3.50, so if it really pops today I will be looking at taking profit over holding it over the weekend. 

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Long on Natural Gas

I went long on Natural Gas @ $3.302.  My Stop Loss is placed at $3.262, and Limit Order is at $3.572. 

I am watching this closely because Nat.Gas may not have bottomed, but if it has we could look for it to hit $4.

Best of luck traders.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

S&P Long Position Stopped Out

It stopped out within a few pips of it taking off.  If your SL order was slightly different than mine you may be hanging on to a winning trade. 

The good news is that the trade was sound.  SL was good too, but price squeezed me out by a hair.  Those SL orders have to be placed somewhere, and the potential of being squeezed out is always going to be a possibility.  It doesn't happen very often, and really, it corroborates the trading strategy.

There is another trade around the corner.

Long S&P500 Position Opened

Went long on the S&P500 @ $1682.88.  A stop loss was placed at $1680.63, and a take profit level is set for $1686.58.

For more information on this trade, please refer to the paid service The Gold and Oil Guy published by Technical Traders Ltd.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this weblog (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The contributor of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates including articles, videos, or seminars, be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Status of My Gold Position

I continue to hold my short gold position.   It was in profit for much of the overnight, and is now near break even.  Target of $1210 remains.

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this site (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The owner of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates (including articles, videos, or seminars), be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Shorting Gold at $1283

Today I shorted gold at $1,283.74.

My Stop Loss is 1294 and my Take Profit is 1210.5. 

For information regarding this trade, please refer to a paid service called TheGold&OilGuy published by a company called Technical Traders Ltd. 

Disclaimer: 
Information posted on this weblog (BDI: Forex Insider) should not be considered investment advice. This is an informational website only.  The contributor of this website is not a registered investment advisor. Under no circumstances should any content from this website or it's affiliates including articles, videos, or seminars, be used or interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any type of security or commodity contract. This material is not a solicitation for a trading approach to financial markets. Any investment decisions must, in all cases, be made by the reader or by his or her registered investment advisor. This material is for record keeping purposes only, and is intended for my own personal use.

Set Ups Take Patience

Getting impatient? 

Don't fret.  A forex account balance can grow -- but it won't if you open a trade just because you want to open a trade.  Be a little pickier than that.  It's important to have discriminating tastes when it comes to forex. 

For now I am hanging on to my money.  Just because markets are moving doesn't mean you are missing out on a gain; That's hindsight.  Always look forward.  The next big smart trade is just around the corner.  

Relax. I haven't forgotten about you. 

Also, don't be glued to your computer.  Get my posts sent via RSS right to your computer or mobile phone. 

Waiting and Seeing

No set ups to report at this time.  I don't have an open trade at the moment, but will post when I make one.

Remember:  Trading is like fishing.  You put out your line and wait for the fish to come to you.  If you jump in and start thrashing around trying to chase the fish down you won't catch a thing and will instead get eaten by a shark. 

The trades that I make are not recommendations for you to do the same, but I'm sitting out until I like what I see.

Cheers.

Trading Takes Patience

No trade set up today for S&P or oil. 

I am well aware that you can't make money without making a trade, but you can't lose money either. 

Patience. 

If you like gambling and getting lucky then you might find this frustrating, but if you like trading and making money, then be patient.  I'll post when I plan to go open a position.

S&P Short Set Up Still In Play

The short S&P position I was holding was stopped out, but I am looking to open a new position.  Will keep posted if I make a trade.

Holiday Week Update

I post when I make a trade, but I just wanted to give a heads up that the markets close early today for the July 4th long weekend.  In other words,  don't expect a trade-filled week with lots of posts.  I will take a look at the markets here and there through out the week, but I don't expect enough volume to create any set-ups.

I will post should I make a trade or I close out my S&P short position, which is the only trade I have open.

Canada Day Trading

I'm a Canuck, so I spent the day in my home town celebrating Canada Day. 

I am catching up on the markets quickly now, so the only update I really have is to point out that oil is back up, so I am glad I exited when I did even though it did close out lower on Friday, and to let you know I am still holding my S&P short. 

Tomorrow is my travel day back home, so if I don't place a trade fairly early in the day I likely won't be placing one at all.

Update: Exiting Oil Position

I just exited my short oil position for a nominal 10 pip profit on oil.  The trade was a risky but valid one, but I have no interest in holding over the weekend.  I will reassess if there is a valid trade on oil next week. 

The S&P Short position I will hold onto.  This one will take longer to play out.

Cheers.

Monitoring the S&P

The S&P is starting it's slide, but it could be in for a bouncy ride.  It's if price gets into 1630 that the big sellers and volume step in, so even though the trade is in profit right now I know I need to be able to stomach it if prices get back up to test the price at my Stop Loss order. 

The set up is good, and now I just wait and see how it plays out.

Cheers.

Oil is at Resistance

I took a small short position with oil at $97, stop loss placed at $97.58 based on my own analysis.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.  This is for informational purposes only.  For more information on oil and a forecast on price, I refer you to the Oil and Gold Guy's Daily Newsletter.  Subscriptions to the newsletter can be purchased by clicking the link.

Is It Time to Take Advantage of the S&P Bounce?

I have opened a short position with the S&P 500.  I entered the position at 1609.6, and have place my Stop Loss at 1630.38, and my Limit Order is set for 1560.4,  but I may adjust this shortly.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.  This is for informational purposes only, and for personal record keeping.  The analysis for this trade is accessible to members who subscribe to the Technical Traders daily newsletter called The Oil and Gold Guy for a nominal fee.

Gold Bear Flag

Based on my own analysis and I exited my long Gold position because a bear flag was forming.  I incurred a nominal loss on the trade.

I repositioned myself and opened a short at $1276.65, and took profit at $1270.35.  It has fallen even further since, but no entry point as presented itself to get back in. 

How Much Should I Risk for Each Trade?

Different traders are going to have different goals and will differences in how much risk they are willing to tollerate.

My rule of thumb is to risk between 1% and 3% of my account for any given trade if I am trading conservatively, and between 3% and 5% if I am making a more aggressive trade.  I might make a conservative trade when I am trading against the trend, and an aggressive one when I am trading with the trend.

One way of putting the amount of money risked into perspective is to put it into terms of how many consecutive losing trades an account could tolerate. 

If I made exclusively conservative trades, I would be able to make between 15 to 50 losing trades before my account would be down 50%.  If I made exclusively aggressive trades I would be able to make between 10 to 15 consecutive losing trades before my account would be down 50%.

Now obviously I do not want to be anywhere near being down 50%, but if you are a good, educated, knowledgeable, and most importantly, unemotional, trader who takes smart, calculated risks (almost impossible for newbie traders, and still very difficult for even experienced traders to achieve), this outcome becomes much less likely.  I like to have that perspective in mind though, because it lets you know just how far you are away from a worst-case scenerio, and one traders always need to be aware of.

Here is a little chart to help you see just how much I might risk per trade depending on the size of my account:

Account Balance:          Conservative Trading Strategy:   Aggressive Trading Strategy:
$500                               $5 to $15 per trade                      $15 to $25 per trade
$1000                             $10 to $30 per trade                    $30 to $50 per trade
$2000                             $20 to $60 per trade                    $60 to $100 per trade
$5000                             $50 to $150 per trade                  $150 to $250 per trade
$10,000                          $100 to $300 per trade                $300 to $500 per trade
$20,000                          $200 to $600 per trade                $600 to $1000 per trade

A note to the newbies out there:  Opening up an account with just $500 means that you would be smart to want to keep the amount you are willing to risk between $5 and $15 per trade.  In order to be a successful trader, you would have to pick the perfect entry point in order to make a successful trade.  In addition, you must take into account that a trade for most major currency pairs will cost you at least $5 if you are purchasing mini lots ($10,000).  That means that you have to get the PERFECT entry in order to keep within your risk tolerance range.  Nailing that perfect entry point when a currency is at it's lowest point before moving up, or it's highest point before moving down, is virtually impossible.  You are more likely to win the lottery or get struck by lightening. 

One thing you might take away from this is that forex trading does require a moderate investment.  With a $500 account balance, a trader will be compelled to risk 10% or more of his account balance in order to give themselves a modest price range in which to purchase a currency.  This, however, leaves them exposed to losing their entire account balance.   Risking 10% on a single trade, going back to that worst case scenario, means that after 5 consecutive losing trades your account will be down to 50% of what it was originally, or that your balance will be $250 instead of $500. 

Once your account gets down to this level, you are at risk of not having enough money to make a trade.  Every trade requires a certain amount of "margin", or money in your account in order to place the trade.  It's not unusual for most currencies pairs to require a margin of approximately $100, and for some commodities, such as silver, it can require a margin amount in the neighbourhood of $200.  If your account is down to $250 you barely have enough money to place a trade.  If you click the "Buy" or "Sell" button in this scenario a window will pop up telling you that you have insufficient margin, and the trade will not go through.

I know that some traders want to get into Forex, but don't have $5000 in capital to invest.  If you are opening up an account with a minimal amount of capital, you would be wise trade as conservatively as possible, and realize that the risk actually increases because the chances of entering a position within 5 pips of the price going in your favour is highly unusual.

Best of luck traders.

Can Gold Catch a Bounce?

I have purchased a small amout of gold at $1276.5 and place the stop loss at $1270 on a potential relief bounce.  I have placed my limit at 1300. 

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.  You can view the analysis behind this trade by purchasing a subscription to newsletter called Technical Traders Ltd.

May's Monthly Report

Here is the report from May's Trades showing the trades I made through out the month with the profit or loss I incurred from each trade.  I am up $488.40 over the course of this month.

If you have been following the trade alerts sent out by subscribing to Chris Vermeulen's Alert Service, then you may have experienced similar results.  Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

 

Summary:

Number of Completed Trades:  12
Number of Trades Still Open:  0
Number of Profitable Trades:  9
Number of Losing Trades:  3
Profit/Loss:  +$488.40

S&P and Silver Not Recovering -- Positions Stopped Out

My S&P and Silver positions were both stopped out this morning. 

The downward slide that started yesterday after the FOMC is continuing.  In the announcement, there was mention that we can expect a slow unwinding of the QE in the future, and that was enough to cause considerable panic selling. 

The S&P:

While there is still potential for another push up in stocks once the panic subsides we are price is sitting at a support level.  I got stopped out on the S&P by a pip and a half. It's frustrating, but it happens.  It is time to "Wait and See Where it Goes", not time to "Take a Gamble and Guess".  Price is at a support level right now, and that support level could either hold, or it could break.  

The plan is to take advantage when some evidence comes in to suggest which way price will go; and that will only be provided with time.  

In the bigger picture, there is certainly evidence to suggest that the S&P is topping.  The uptrend is losing steam, and it will eventually roll over.  But I am not in the business of picking tops.  In my experience there is no money in that.  Until it is confirmed that it has topped, I will not be guessing where that top may be.  

Silver:

A new low was broken.  Was the low pierced and it will recover?  Or will it start a whole new wave of selling?  The low offered considerable support, and the trade to go long was a valid one.  I will be waiting to see where it will go and wait for a good set-up.

This post is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold on to a position.  This is for informational puposes only, and to log and track my own trades.  For more analysis on the S&P, silver, and other commodities, please subscribe to Chris Vermeulen's Alert Service.

S&P and Silver

I have gone long on the S&P at 1627.6, and long on silver at 21.3.  I have placed stop losses at 1600, and 20.

This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

To check out the analysis on this trade, please see CV Analysis

Oil Appears to Be Stalling

I have closed my long oil position.  It increased nicely this morning, but it was on low volume, and it has since backed off.  The Fed today could mean some crazy price action for many markets today.

I closed it for a small profit.

This is not a recommendation to sell oil, or to close an open position.  It is for informational purposes, and is personal reference. 

Has Silver Bottomed?

I have placed an order to buy silver at 21 with a stop loss set at 20.  My take profit point is open. 

When silver dipped to $20.16 on June 17, 2013, most of the long positions were shaken out and the price bounced right back up.  The $20 price point should now offer strong support. The price action may bounce between 20 and 21 as silver looks for it's footing.  I will be watching the price action closely.  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell, but if you'd like the detailed analysis on this trade to evaluate the risks on your own, please visit CV Analysis.

My long oil position is still open.

Sitting Tight with a Long Oil Position

We had a nice rally this morning on oil, and it is now pulling back a bit.  I continue to wait for oil to climb to the 100.00 level, and my long position is set to close at 99.8 to ensure I catch the price and close out at a profit. 

For the analysis on this trade please subscribe to:  CV Analysis

Is Oil Worth Holding On To?

I will be holding on to my oil position through the overnight unless my stop loss or limit order is hit. 

For those needing catch-up I purchased oil at 97.75, have a stop loss of 97, and limit order of 99.8. 

Signing off for the day...

Is it Time to Go Long on Oil?

The set up for oil was good enough for me.  As mentioned this morning, I placed an order to buy if the price dipped to 97.75 and this order automatically got filled.  My stop loss is set for 97, and limit is set at 99.8 just in case it doesn't peirce 100.00.


To view the analysis please see:  CV Analysis

Possible Opportunity to Buy Oil

If oil slips back to 97.75 I will be looking to buy. 

I have set a limit order to trigger at 99.80, just shy of the psychological 100 mark to ensure I lock in profits.  My stop loss is set to an even 97.00.

Cheers.

Are Gold and Silver Carving Out a Bottom?

It has been a very long couple of years for the precious metal bugs. The price of gold, silver and their related mining stocks have bucked the broad market up trend and instead have been sinking to the bottom in terms of performance.

Earlier this week I posted a detailed report on the broad stock market and how it looks as though it‘s uptrend will be coming to an end sooner than later. The good news is that precious metals have the exact flip side of that outlook. They appear to be bottoming as they churn at support zones.

While metals and miners remain in a down trend it is important to recognize and prepare for a reversal in the coming weeks or months. Let’s take a look at the charts for a visual of where price is currently trading along with my analysis overlaid.

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