- This article, written by Alan Collins is taken from the FX Trader Magazine (JAN/MARCH 2013 issue).
The Relative Strength Indicator, created by Welles Wilder, has long been used by many market participants in their analysis. For the most part this application has been applied via daily charts, or longer periods, primarily as a means to identify trend. But there are a number of methods that RSI can be used for;
- As a measure of an overbought/oversold situation.
- An indicator of the underlying trend & of trend breaks.
- A buy/sell signal when the 50% line is crossed.
- An indicator of possible Divergence
For the investor or proprietary trader these methods are without doubt tools that, taken in context with other technical indicators, will prove useful. But do they work, and can they be successfully employed, in shorter intraday time frames? In this article I will use the same hourly GBPUSD chart, and the same 8 period RSI, and apply the four methods above to illustrate how to use them and assess whether they’re likely to be beneficial. Lastly I’ll add a lesser known but powerful number of other situations were only warnings of what turns out to be minor profit taking rallies inside the more pronounced trend.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD extends recovery beyond 1.0400 amid Wall Street's turnaround
EUR/USD extends its recovery beyond 1.0400, helped by the better performance of Wall Street and softer-than-anticipated United States PCE inflation. Profit-taking ahead of the winter holidays also takes its toll.
GBP/USD nears 1.2600 on renewed USD weakness
GBP/USD extends its rebound from multi-month lows and approaches 1.2600. The US Dollar stays on the back foot after softer-than-expected PCE inflation data, helping the pair edge higher. Nevertheless, GBP/USD remains on track to end the week in negative territory.
USD/JPY dips to test a previous top at 156.60 following hot Japanese inflation
The Yen trims some losses following higher than expected inflation levels in Japan. The hot inflation figures have increased hopes of a BoJ hike in January. Technically, the pair is correcting lower, after having reached strongly overbought levels.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD extends recovery beyond 1.0400 amid Wall Street's turnaround
EUR/USD extends its recovery beyond 1.0400, helped by the better performance of Wall Street and softer-than-anticipated United States PCE inflation. Profit-taking ahead of the winter holidays also takes its toll.
GBP/USD nears 1.2600 on renewed USD weakness
GBP/USD extends its rebound from multi-month lows and approaches 1.2600. The US Dollar stays on the back foot after softer-than-expected PCE inflation data, helping the pair edge higher. Nevertheless, GBP/USD remains on track to end the week in negative territory.
Gold rises above $2,620 as US yields edge lower
Gold extends its daily rebound and trades above $2,620 on Friday. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury bond yield declines toward 4.5% following the PCE inflation data for November, helping XAU/USD stretch higher in the American session.
Bitcoin crashes to $96,000, altcoins bleed: Top trades for sidelined buyers
Bitcoin (BTC) slipped under the $100,000 milestone and touched the $96,000 level briefly on Friday, a sharp decline that has also hit hard prices of other altcoins and particularly meme coins.
Bank of England stays on hold, but a dovish front is building
Bank of England rates were maintained at 4.75% today, in line with expectations. However, the 6-3 vote split sent a moderately dovish signal to markets, prompting some dovish repricing and a weaker pound. We remain more dovish than market pricing for 2025.
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