Does anybody trade profitably on technical analysis alone? Or must fundamentals be incorporated to trade successfully? I intend on trading higher time frames, mainly H4 and dailys so would fundamentals and news reports affect my price action signals from technical analysis?
For the most part it is. Just have a news calender on hand to be able to back out if big events go against you. I try really hard to use larger TFs and avoid as much news on the particular pair I’m trading as possible.
In short, yes.
Technical analysis is essentially monitoring the price movement that is being driven by supply and demand.
I think everyone is a bit mindful of technical analysis even if they heavily rely on fundamental analysis. With spot forex, I know of no one that has traded successfully on pure fundamental anaylsis.
It sure is.
Im mostly technical analysis.
However I look at it different to others.
When im reading a chart im looking at reading the story that the chart is telling. I make the chart tell me the story not me tell the chart the story. So what im reading is the psychology of all the market participants in the whole world. Im looking at there point of view, the bias, and an entry point where i think a large chunk of traders will put orders too. This is called the the breakout level.
Technical analysis is just a method i use to find out what the story is. Once i know the story i can use it to my advantage to make money.
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Some traders go for only technical analysis and making profit as well. However I use both fundamental and technical analysis.
In my 2cents opinion Both fundamentals and technicals are essentials for every trade.Trading only based upon a single analysis is usually uncertain and unprofitable.
I know that many people will say something about what I’m telling you but… No, it is not possible in my opinion!
You should at least pay attention to the major news that determine large price movements… but if you want to be a real good trader you have to learn more.
I’m sorry, but I think we can’t be good traders if we rely on technical analysis only.
This is just an opinion, bye bye guys 
Thanks for all the answers guys, fedegmail if you are swing trading rather than intraday will news spikes affect your trading do you think, as you have wider stops?
It is perfectly possible to make a profit trading technical analysis alone.
What actually is technical analysis? Well apart from being a lot of pretty lines on a chart technical analysis is actually a record of a markets price and as a technical you must hold the belief that price discounts everything.
What I mean by price discounting everything is that the actual price that you see on a chart is a representation of all of the news and information available with regards to that specific market, stock, or commodity. A fundamentalist may look back through company records or review the last 20 years of interest rate changes to see what effect it has had (and therefore may have again in the future) on price. In fact what you could say that a chart (the basis of technical analysis) is merely a graphical representation of the fundamentals of that market.
Now there may be some arguments saying “Well how can you decide where price is likely to go based on previous price action? the past cannot predict the future.” However fundamentals cannot predict the future either and fundamental analysis is based on past records as well. When I was trading stock I generally traded the fundamentals, I would look at past dividend yields and P/E Ratios of the companies. I would look at the past fundamental details to try and get a handle on what was likely to happen in the future. In the same way as a technician I look at past chart and price data to try and get a hndle on future price.
People being people all have different strengths and personalities, for some a purely technical approach is better, for others fundamentals may play a bigger part and for other a mix of the two may work for them.
But in answer to your question yes it is possible and many trader do make money based purely on technical analysis.
DT.
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Yes I think so. For example, you have a long position on GBP/AUD. One day you see that Bank of England lowers the interest rate to 0.25% from 0.50% and GBP/AUD begins to fall. Next week Reserve Bank of Australia raises the interest rate to 4.5 from 3.75 and GBP/AUD continues to fall. When can you expect a trend change? After weeks or months? I’m not saying you should trade on the news, but you should know why sometimes the price takes that direction.
Good luck and have fun 
Cheers guys your answers have been really helpful
Technical analysis is the study of charts, which are merely a visual representation of what is happening in the market. You trade based on what is happening in the market. Assuming that you use an effective trading strategy, then yes, you can trade based on technical analysis alone. A bit over-simplified, but it illustrates my point.
I think that requires a great deal of expertise and luck as well. I barely totally rely on technical analysis nor absolutely on indicators. How can I entirely focus on calculations from my charts and frames; when there is a possibility that they may be spiked by the providers. How can I focus on entirely on technical and automated trading when I know that the platforms can easily be bugged and my trades interfered and manipulated? All these happen with a licensed broker; well I am still struggling to recover from the fact that even some regulated brokers are no better than some trustworthy offshore brokers.
Hello OP,
thank you for the post…
I was reading a good article today about this very topic, which I thought I should share:
Learn Forex: The Complete Trading Approach | DailyFX
Happy trading
The general consensus is to rely on both technical and fundamental data.
Look at the fundamentals calendar (recommend Forex Factory) and then apply technical analysis to find entries. Just make sure you have created a forex trading plan, and follow it consistently, so that you know what you are doing from there.
Hi,
It’s this big battle fundamental vs. Technical. None does dominate the other.
A technical swing trader for instance tries to avoid the news that cause too much havoc and gauges
price movements based on momentums and s/r levels. On the other hand a pure fundamentalist
relies on the health of an economy and takes into account all the factors that will lead for rates
to change.
Interesting is technical traders might or might not avoid fundamentals but a fundamentalist mostly even if briefly
will get their hands on the charts to find suitable stop levels.
Cheers
http://forums.babypips.com/free-forex-trading-systems/57863-z-pattern.html
Well I just finished kindergarten a pipschool and there are three types of analysis. In my opinion it is possible to be successful with just technical analysis, however you will be more successful if you incroporate all three types of analysis see below…
Which Type of Analysis is Best?
Ahhhh, the million dollar question….
Throughout your journey as an aspiring forex trader you will find strong advocates for each type of analysis. Do not be fooled by these one-sided extremists! One is not better than the other…they are all just different ways to look at the market.
At the end of the day, you should trade based on the type of analysis you are most comfortable and profitable with.
To recap, technical analysis is the study of price movement on the charts while fundamental analysis takes a look at how the country’s economy is doing.
Market sentiment analysis determines whether the market is bullish or bearish on the current or future fundamental outlook.
Fundamental factors shape sentiment, while technical analysis helps us visualize that sentiment and apply a framework for our trades.
Those three work hand-in-hand-in-hand to help you come up with good trade ideas. All the historical price action and economic figures are there – all you have to do is put on your thinking cap and put those analytical skills to the test!
Let me pull out that three-legged stool again just to emphasize the importance of all three types of analysis.
Take out one or two legs of the stool and it’s going to be shaky!
Three-legged stool
In order to become a true forex master you will need to know how to effectively use these three types of analysis.