We have often heard traders make the claim that one currency pair is “easier” or “difficult” to trade over another. My response was a bit shorter on Quora, but here…you’ll get the full story.
We will examine the claim by other traders and why it really doesn’t belong in our trading thought process because it only complicates things.
Trading Style
“Easy” to you may be what someone else finds difficult…it’s all relative. Start with your personal style of trading. Whether you are a scalper, day trader, swing or position trader will determine if a particular currency pair is easy or difficult. Trading extremely short time frames demands that you dedicate your full attention to the screen. Look away for a moment and might miss something. This not an easy way to trade, regardless of what pair you are looking at. Longer time frames afford the trader more tolerance.
Flex and Buckle
All currency pairs flex though various market conditions. Dead, choppy & volatile, and trending can determine whether a particular pair is “easy” which leads us to the trading style of the individual. This is important, because it leads to your “field of view”, or what you define as the current market based on what you see. Let’s explore this further…
What do you see here? Without any reference, you don’t really know this currency pair’s market condition. Not knowing which pair and the timeframe, it’s just a random chart. Some might consider it flat, others trending, and some may consider it choppy.
Now, let’s view from a higher level.
Could it be just a little dip in an upward trend? Let’s back out to an even higher level.
Or is it just part of a flat market before a downtrend? Now, let’s change the time frame.
When we backed out even further, it’s really nothing at all.
Are you a trend trader looking for big moves, or are you trying to find tops and bottoms instead? Depending on the market state of a currency pair and time frame, the chart may be attractive to some traders and considered “untradable” to others.
Faithful…to a Fault
I never understood traders who swear by one or two favorite currency pairs and refuse to look at anything else. Honestly, it makes no sense. Every pair will trend, chop and flatten at one time or another on every time frame. You must understand that every pair offers opportunities, you just need to let them come to you – never force a trade because you insist on trading a particular pair. If XXX/YYY pair does not give you what you want, move on.
Broaden Your Horizons
Our suggestion is to look at all pairs which are made of the eight major currencies; USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, AUD, NZD, CAD. There are 28 different tradable combinations from these eight currencies. Some may refer to these combinations as “Major”, “Minor”, and “Exotic”. However, considering that these are the eight major currencies, those terms really don’t mean anything to us. “Minor” and “Exotic” may be considered as outlying currency pairs that have thin markets (little volume), and the lack of available financial news gives us good reasons to let others worry about them.
By screening these 28 pairs without any feelings for one or the other (because they are not sports teams), you afford yourself a much stronger possibility for finding optimal trade setups with the best chance for success. So, why limit yourself to only one particular pair?
Institutional Manipulation
Additionally, you should be aware that anything crossed with the USD are closely monitored by the Big Banks and major institutions who have the power to manipulate prices, and generally messing up your groove. Strongly consider starting with currency pairs which don’t have the USD as either the cross, or the base; like the GBP/JPY. If this is something new or doesn’t make sense – don’t worry, we’ll cover this in depth in another blog…
Stay open-minded. Never “marry” a particular pair. They don’t love you. And even more important, they don’t care who you are, how you trade, or what you look like.
More to Come
There’s a lot more to come. If you haven’t signed up on our contacts page or subscribed to the YouTube channel, please consider doing so to receive notifications as we continue to publish helpful, relevant, and informative Forex related material to support your quest to becoming a better trader.
And, now you are better informed when “easy” and “difficult” are mentioned when trading different currency pairs.
Learn More Here
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Our only goal is to make you a better trader.
BTW – Any information communicated by Stonehill Forex Limited is solely for educational purposes. The information contained within the courses and on the website neither constitutes investment advice nor a general recommendation on investments. It is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as investment advice or a general recommendation on investment. Any person who places trades, orders or makes other types of trades and investments etc. is responsible for their own investment decisions and does so at their own risk. It is recommended that any person taking investment decisions consults with an independent financial advisor. Stonehill Forex Limited training courses and blogs are for educational purposes only, not a financial advisory service, and does not give financial advice or make general recommendations on investment.