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 appears side-lined around 1.1700 ahead of Fed Minutes
EUR/USD remains under modest downward pressure, trading just above 1.1700 amid a consolidative range on Wednesday. The pair's bearish tone comes as President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs and hinted that more are coming, maintaining market uncertainty. In the meantime, traders are waiting for the FOMC Minutes, which could shed more light on the Fed's potential rate path.
GBP/USD extends its consolidation below 1.3600
GBP/USD alternates gains with losses on Wednesday, embarking on a range-bound theme just below the 1.3600 barrier. The cautious market sentiment caused by the uncertainties surrounding US trade policies allows the US Dollar to remain resilient against its peers while limiting Cable’s upside.
USD/JPY retreats from 147.15 as risk aversion eases ahead of the FOMC Minutes
The US Dollar has trimmed previous gains on Wednesday’s European session, as market sentiment improved, and is trading with marginal gains against the Yen, nearing the mid-range of the 146.00s after rejection at 147.15. The pair appreciated about 1.5% over the previous two days, after a letter from President Trump announced 25% tariffs on all products from Japan, and moved the deadline to August 1 from the original July 9.
Editors’ Picks
EUR/USD appears side-lined around 1.1700 ahead of Fed Minutes
EUR/USD remains under modest downward pressure, trading just above 1.1700 amid a consolidative range on Wednesday. The pair's bearish tone comes as President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs and hinted that more are coming, maintaining market uncertainty. In the meantime, traders are waiting for the FOMC Minutes, which could shed more light on the Fed's potential rate path.
GBP/USD extends its consolidation below 1.3600
GBP/USD alternates gains with losses on Wednesday, embarking on a range-bound theme just below the 1.3600 barrier. The cautious market sentiment caused by the uncertainties surrounding US trade policies allows the US Dollar to remain resilient against its peers while limiting Cable’s upside.
Gold price retains its positive bias amid a broadly weaker USD; lacks bullish conviction
Gold price trades with a mild positive for the second straight day on Thursday, though it lacks follow-through and remains below the $3,350 level through the early European session. Reports that US President Donald Trump was considering replacing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell raised concerns over the future independence of the US central bank.
Bitcoin Cash targets 52-week high as on-chain data indicate room for growth
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is trading in the green by 2% at press time on Thursday, following a 6.39% price surge on Wednesday. Rising in a parallel channel pattern, BCH shows signs of increasing bullish momentum and nearing the $500 psychological level.
Could Iran block the Strait of Hormuz? Why Oil is on edge after US strikes
As the Israel-Iran conflict reaches new heights, an old threat is coming back to haunt the markets: that of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow arm of the sea in the Persian Gulf, wedged between Iran to the north and the United Arab Emirates and Oman to the south, is much more than a simple sea passage.
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