Reactive trading and news trading - the strategies that are based on your interpretation of the events - are always a hot topic. While it is popular among cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who may have access to the best first-hand knowledge about the coins they are trading, it may be not the best strategy when trading Forex.
In this post, SimpleFX will introduce you to a currency pair that may suit traders that want to make decisions based on technical analysis, not news. In this case, you want to avoid the drama and forex mainstream. You don't want to trade pound sterling among the Brexit turmoil. You want volatility, strong trends with no prolonged consolidations on relatively high volumes - a choppy market trading sideways.
There is a currency pair that shares these features - it's AUD NZD called within forex lingo Aussie/Kiwi.
Both currencies are considered risk-on. This combination helps you avoid situations where a big economical or political event blows-up the strategy you built on the technical analysis. If you are trading a risk-on currency - like the Australian dollar or New Zealand dollar - against a risk-off currency that is considered a safe investment in times of high uncertainty - such as Japanese yen - you are prone to unexpected situations.
Trading two risk-on currencies at the same time make your trading strategy more robust.
On the other hand, both Australia and New Zealand have been able to stay away from the global headlines. There's hardly ever a top breaking news story about these markets.
As for the currency pair itself, it has all the qualities a day trader looks for. It is highly volatile (although not the most volatile pair there is, which may expect the relatively low popularity of Aussie/Kiwi).
As you can see in the 1D chart below AUD NZD trends strongly. There are very short sideways drifts in the pair, and most often you can identify them clearly as consolidation periods due to a lower trading volume.
AUDNZD is showing some serious volatility. Source: SimpleFX WebTrader
Strong trends are much easier to trade. Nevertheless, many forex traders choose pairs that are very tricky. Just take a look at the very popular EURUSD. You can see very long periods where the market is undecided and it is very difficult to make money trading at this time frame. These sideway trends are not obvious consolidations, so it's even more difficult to implement any trading strategy effectively.
The volatility is quite strong since the two currencies although in the same region don't correlate much. Being relative neighbors the two economies are perceived more like rivals big institutional investors can choose from.
One last but not least feature of the Aussie/Kiwi pair is the early timezone. If you are trading daily candlesticks from Europe, the Americas, Africa or the even Middle East, the news that may affect your strategy come very early in the cycle. You can adjust your positions if anything unexpected happens, which makes it an even more comfortable forex instrument for traders that want to focus on technical analysis rather than reactions to the news.
Trading EURUSD can be very tricky
Because of all the above characteristics, AUD NZD is a good pair to test your trading system, since there are not many external events that may blow up your otherwise sound trading strategy.
Trading in the products and services of SimpleFX may result in losses as well as profits. In particular trading in leveraged products, such as but not limited to, cryptocurrency, foreign exchange, derivatives and commodities can be very speculative. Losses and profits may fluctuate both violently and rapidly.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stays defensive below 1.1750 as USD finds its feet
EUR/USD kicks off the new week on a softer note, holding below 1.1750 in European trading on Monday. The pair faces challenges due to a pause in the US Dollar downtrend, with traders shifting their focus to the delayed US Nonfarm Payrolls and CPI data for fresh directives. The ECB policy decision is also eagerly awaited.
GBP/USD holds steady above 1.3350 as traders await key data and BoE
GBP/USD remains on the back foot above 1.3350 in the European session on Monday, though it lacks bearish conviction and holds above the key 200-day SMA support. The US Dollar holds its recovery mode ahead of key data releases, while the Pound Sterling faces headwinds from the expected BoE rate cut this week.
Japanese Yen adds to strong gains and drags USD/JPY to 155.00 amid hawkish BoJ bets
The Japanese Yen extends its steady intraday ascent through the Asian session on Monday, dragging the USD/JPY pair to the 155.00 psychological mark in the last hour. Against the backdrop of the recent shift in rhetoric from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, an improvement in business confidence reaffirms market bets for an imminent rate hike this week.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD stays defensive below 1.1750 as USD finds its feet
EUR/USD kicks off the new week on a softer note, holding below 1.1750 in European trading on Monday. The pair faces challenges due to a pause in the US Dollar downtrend, with traders shifting their focus to the delayed US Nonfarm Payrolls and CPI data for fresh directives. The ECB policy decision is also eagerly awaited.
GBP/USD holds steady above 1.3350 as traders await key data and BoE
GBP/USD remains on the back foot above 1.3350 in the European session on Monday, though it lacks bearish conviction and holds above the key 200-day SMA support. The US Dollar holds its recovery mode ahead of key data releases, while the Pound Sterling faces headwinds from the expected BoE rate cut this week.
Gold climbs to seven-week highs on Fed rate cut bets, safe-haven demand
Gold price rises to seven-week highs to near $4,350 during the early European trading hours on Monday. The precious metal extends its upside amid the prospect of interest rate cuts by the US Fed next year. Lower interest rates could reduce the opportunity cost of holding Gold, supporting the non-yielding precious metal.
Solana consolidates as spot ETF inflows near $1 billion signal institutional dip-buying
Solana price hovers above $131 at the time of writing on Monday, nearing the upper boundary of a falling wedge pattern, awaiting a decisive breakout. On the institutional side, demand for spot Solana Exchange-Traded Funds remained firm, pushing total assets under management to nearly $1 billion since launch.
Big week ends with big doubts
The S&P 500 continued to push higher yesterday as the US 2-year yield wavered around the 3.50% mark following a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut earlier this week that was ultimately perceived as not that hawkish after all. The cut is especially boosting the non-tech pockets of the market.
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