Support and Resistance
Support & Resistance lines - Make or break price points
Support and resistance lines conform the most basic analytical tools and are commonly used as visual markers to trace the levels where the price found a temporary barrier. In other words, where price had trouble crossing.
From a strategic point of view, support and resistance levels represent smart places to anticipate a reaction in the price of an asset, and therefore represent a basic tool in technical analysis. Numerous traders use them, but the diversity in application and integration tell us that charting is definitely not an exact science and more of an art.
One of the most common mistakes that new traders make is buying too close to a line of resistance or selling too close to a line of support. In this page we provide enough set-ups and real-time examples, to make sure you thoroughly understand this simple yet important dynamic.
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Price zones
Don't be disappointed if S&R lines haven't worked for you until now. You see, in reality, support and resistance are price zones, not exact numbers. This is clearly visible when switching from a higher timeframe to a lower one: an horizontal line on a weekly chart can perfectly be made by an horizontal price channel on a one hour chart.
This is why it often what appears to be a break of a support or resistance level is just the market testing it. These 'tests' of support and resistance are usually represented by the candlestick shadows piercing the S&R
levels.
If the market were made by S&R lines and not by people, then the exchange rate would always rise and fall to the same exact price points, over and over again.
But because that rarely happens it's important to think of support and resistance as zones on the chart where people buy and sell.
One way to induce the habit to treat S&R lines as zones is drawing them with fat lines, avoiding a fine-point trace. That way you won't fool yourself into believing you have identified the exact price at which a currency pair is going to turn around and start moving in the opposite direction. And even better: draw the lines, especially the horizontal ones using two lines, an upper and a lower one, or use rectangles to mark the zones. Your chart platform has all these fancy tools for sure.
Identifying Supply and Demand
There where the difference between the number of buyers and sellers get more remarkable, it tends to form a Support or Resistance level. Your next logical quest will be to identify them on a price chart.
Historical and potential levels, can
lead to several constructs: horizontal lines and dynamic trendlines are the most used ones and can be based on significant highs and lows. Lines are also used to delineate price channels as well as classical chart
figures such as triangles and wedges.
Some technical indicators can act as potential levels, such as sentiment chart, moving averages, Pivot Points and
Fibonacci cycles which are commonly used in Elliott Wave analysis.
Round numbers - those quotes ending in 00 or 50- and emotional spikes are often perceived as Support and Resistance levels.
When these levels encompass a larger area on the charts technicians speak of a Support and Resistance Zone.
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Editors' picks
EUR/USD: Fed uncertainty and geopolitical turmoil behind dull trading Premium
The EUR/USD pair fell to a fresh January low of 1.1593, closing the week a handful of pips above the 1.1600 mark. Sellers defended the upside at around the 1.1700 level for a second consecutive week, despite broad US Dollar (USD) weakness.
GBP/USD: Pound Sterling remains under pressure against US Dollar Premium
The Pound Sterling (GBP) started off the week on a firm footing against the US Dollar (USD) and jumped to 1.3486 on Monday, following criminal charges against Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell over cost overrun in the reconstruction of Washington’s headquarters.
Gold: Fed cut bets, geopolitical tensions underpin bullish impulse Premium
Gold (XAU/USD) extended its positive performance this week, at some point hitting all-time tops just above the $4,640 mark per troy ounce. Since then, the yellow metal seems to have entered a corrective mood, attempting at the same time some consolidation in the upper end of the range.
Bitcoin: BTC bulls remain strong amid institutional demand, risk-on sentiment improves
Bitcoin (BTC) price holds above $95,500 at the time of writing on Friday after rallying more than so far 5% this week. The rising institutional and corporate demand supports the bullish price action in BTC.
US Dollar: Recovery gathers extra momentum Premium
It was another constructive week for the US Dollar (USD), with the US Dollar Index (DXY) extending its steady climb and remaining firmly on the front foot so far this year. Indeed, the DXY pushed decisively back above the 99.00 mark, doing so with a fair degree of conviction.
