This is a much bigger question than you probably, at this stage, realise!
When we look at a chart we can only see where the price is now and where it has been in the past. But what we want to know is where the price is going in the future.
There are two different broad methods of trying to achieve this:
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Fundamental Analysis
We are not so concerned here with historic price. We follow all the factors that influence price such as economic data releases, central bank policies, international geopolitics, etc. Then, based on how these change , we try to anticipate what impact they have on price, in which direction and by how much.
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Technical Analysis
TA does not analyse fundamentals, it analyses price movement. Therefore historic price is important in extrapolating where price might go next. Basically, TA is analysing what the majority of other market participants are actually doing rather than what we personally think price should be doing.
For most retail traders, although fundamental analysis is relevant, if used alone it is too vague and long term in nature to be able to define accurately timing and levels for position entries and exits.
This should not be confused with “news trading” which is simply taking positions based on individual news events at the time of their release.
Technical Analysis takes a different approach to the same thing. It is looking also at price movement, but is more interested in analysing what the market is doing rather than why it is doing it!
Therefore mathematical based indicators such as moving averages can help to identify the presence and strength of underlying price movements and thereby highlight a trend (or lack of trend) and whether it is starting or ending, etc
With TA we are studying historic price and projecting forward where it is likely to go next. Hence the talk about the importance of “probability” in trading. We do not know where price will go next but we can judge what it is most likely to do - and, just as important, at what level do we decide that it didn’t do it afterall, and get out!
It is very similar to being in a maze with lots of alternative turnings along the way to the centre. And it is our task to judge which are dead ends and which are right. We often need to backtrack to find the right path again!
I would suggest most traders use a mix of both FA and TA in their analysis depending on their styles, choice of instruments, trading timespans, etc.
These are just some pointers and it is a long journey to decide which style mix and tools suit any individual trader - and, of course, these tend to change as we progress. Learning never ends…