Summer trading is different. As traders are headed to the beach, or elsewhere they choose to disconnect and get some rest, markets slow down, lose volume and become a bit more unpredictable.

That does not mean summer trading is worthless, but as Blake Morrow, founder of ForexAnalytix, says, with “trading ranges shrinking about a 1/3 of what you would normally expect, little spurts of volatility often can catch you off guard chasing a move or breakout, only to watch it fail or reverse”. Morrow proposes trying scalping or practicing “target trading” in smaller amounts as a way to get through the lack of liquidity of markets during these months minimizing the risk of an undesired drawdown.

If you rather have a more laid back time, summers are also good for reading and reflecting on the good, the bad and the ugly. The latter two are what we are focusing on in these series of articles, having put together some interesting tales and lessons learned from our best contributors during their lengthy careers. Nobody can excel at any kind of activity, and less so in the trading world, without first busting a couple of times.

This is what our most dedicated contributors learned in the process:

Trading psychology: Don’t let your emotions dictate your trading - This is a classic topic of trading educational articles. And it’s like that for actual solid reasons. Read how to surf the emotional wave of trading without drowning.

Wrong forex strategies: Don’t average down losing trades - Trying to correct a losing trade by doubling down with a lower entry price is another popular mistake. Everybody knows it but it is hard to avoid going down that way when losing on a trade you judged well.

Follow your forex plan: Don’t engage in reckless trading - Setting up some internal rules for your trading looks like a must first-step before setting up your account and getting into your platform. There are some nasty outcomes for those who ignore their own trading plan.

Day trading mistakes: Tales of how big trades went wrong - One way to learn from your past mistakes is having to go through the painful and challenging experience of explaining them. Another way is to hear from others who might have lived through some disgruntling trades.

Trading psychology: Don’t underestimate the risk - Assessing the risk of a trade is one of the biggest challenges any trader faces when planning the operations. It’s much easier to focus on the potential profits of a big trading opportunity spotted than calculating the potential losses one wrong turn can trigger.


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Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data

EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data

Another sign of the good health of the US economy came in response to firm flash US Manufacturing and Services PMIs, which in turn reinforced further the already strong performance of the US Dollar, relegating EUR/USD to the 1.0400 neighbourhood on Friday.

EUR/USD News
GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar

GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar

Poor results from the UK docket kept the British pound on the back foot on Thursday, hovering around the low-1.2500s in a context of generalized weakness in the risk-linked galaxy vs. another outstanding day in the Greenback.

GBP/USD News
Japanese Yen drops to fresh daily low; USD/JPY approaches 155.00 ahead of US PMIs

Japanese Yen drops to fresh daily low; USD/JPY approaches 155.00 ahead of US PMIs

The Japanese Yen struggles to capitalize on stronger domestic inflation-inspired intraday uptick. The BoJ rate-hike uncertainty, the upbeat market mood and elevated US bond yields cap the JPY. The USD climbs to a fresh year-to-date high and offers additional support to the USD/JPY pair. 

USD/JPY News

Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data

EUR/USD treads water just above 1.0400 post-US data

Another sign of the good health of the US economy came in response to firm flash US Manufacturing and Services PMIs, which in turn reinforced further the already strong performance of the US Dollar, relegating EUR/USD to the 1.0400 neighbourhood on Friday.

EUR/USD News
GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar

GBP/USD remains depressed near 1.2520 on stronger Dollar

Poor results from the UK docket kept the British pound on the back foot on Thursday, hovering around the low-1.2500s in a context of generalized weakness in the risk-linked galaxy vs. another outstanding day in the Greenback.

GBP/USD News
Gold keeps the bid bias unchanged near $2,700

Gold keeps the bid bias unchanged near $2,700

Persistent safe haven demand continues to prop up the march north in Gold prices so far on Friday, hitting new two-week tops past the key $2,700 mark per troy ounce despite extra strength in the Greenback and mixed US yields.

Gold News
Geopolitics back on the radar

Geopolitics back on the radar

Rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine caused renewed unease in the markets this week. Putin signed an amendment to Russian nuclear doctrine, which allows Russia to use nuclear weapons for retaliating against strikes carried out with conventional weapons.

Read more
Eurozone PMI sounds the alarm about growth once more

Eurozone PMI sounds the alarm about growth once more

The composite PMI dropped from 50 to 48.1, once more stressing growth concerns for the eurozone. Hard data has actually come in better than expected recently – so ahead of the December meeting, the ECB has to figure out whether this is the PMI crying wolf or whether it should take this signal seriously. We think it’s the latter.

Read more

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