DailyFX Dynamic Carry Trade Basket: Up By 137 pips

[DailyFx]

§ This week we were up by 137 pips in value and accumulated almost $150 on interest payments
§ A large share of our total profit was made in the long position we hold in the Australian dollar and in the short position we also have in the Hong Kong dollar. The AUD/USD rose from 0.8330 to 0.8427 in the last five days and is up by 14 percent for the year. Last week, our biggest loss was taken in this pair but we said that "we remain very confident in the Australian economy and we expect the upcoming data to push the Aussie from 0.8180 all the way up to 0.8390".
§ On the other hand, during this week, the carry portfolio suffered its biggest loss in the Sterling. The Bank of England monetary policy committee decided to keep interest rates at 5.5 per cent and the GBP/USD sold off 152 pips.
§ No chances were done in the components of the Dynamic Carry Trade Basket. Good Luck!




What Are We Currently Long?

NZDUSD
AUD/USD
GBP/USD
USD/CHF
USD/HKD
USD/JPY




Additional Information

In an ever changing world, making profitable carry trades* (definition below) are not as easy as they use to be. Therefore we have created a dynamic carry basket that changes when the monetary policy outlook for a central bank changes or if there is significant event risk ahead. Follow the performance of the DailyFX Dynamic Carry Trade Basket

What is Carry Trade
All that is needed to understand the carry trade concept is a basic knowledge of foreign exchange and interest rates differentials. Money shifts from around the world in seek of the highest yield and the benefit of trading currencies is that you are dealing with countries that have interest rates, which are charged or received every single day. If you are positioned on the side of positive carry, you have the right to earn that interest, which can be quite lucrative over time.

Protective Stop-Loss
Substantial gains made from interest rate differentials provide undeniable evidence that the carry trade strategy has been very successful over the past few years. Still, this strategy involves significant risks and an adequate protective stop is required. We are using a protective stop-loss equivalent to five times the average true range.

Position Sizing
Our position size varies according to each currency volatility. Generally, the more volatile the currency is, the fewer lots we trade. For example, let's assume you have $10,000 and you are trading 10K lots, you decide to limit your risk per trade to 3% or $300 and the 90 days average true range for the EURUSD is 100 pips. In this case, if you go long EUR/USD you could buy 3 lots, since ($10000 * 3%) divided by (0.0100*10K) = 3 lots. In case the final result is not an integer you should always rounded it down to limit your exposure.