Chart Time Frames Question

Hello,

I had a concern regarding different chart time frames. You often hear people telling you to look at 15 min. charts, or 1 hr charts, or 4 hr charts, or even 24 hr charts, depending on your trading style.

It is my understanding that a 15 min. chart refers to one in which each candlestick represents 15 minutes of time, correct? So then with a 24 hr chart, each candlestick stands for an entire day?

However, I never hear people mention what the [B]range[/B] of the chart should be. They only mention how detailed the chart should be, but never how much time the chart should span.

What I mean is, if you are looking at a 1 hr chart, how much time should your chart incorporate? With the charts that I use, I have to enter in the start and end time and then load the chart. For instance, if you wanted to look at a [B]1 hr chart[/B] right now to determine when you should enter a trade, from what time to what time should you be looking at? From last week to now, from yesterday to now, or just today’s data?

Does this make a difference in what your indicators will say? For instance, if 1.5000 is a resistance/high point for a certain currency pair on a [B]1 hr chart[/B], then will chart indicators[B] reflect[/B][I] that[/I] when the price is at 1.5000, no matter if the chart itself runs for 2 hours, 24 hours, or 2 days, as long as each candlestick on that chart represents [B]1 hour[/B]?

I guess another way to ask this question is, do chart indicators take into account all of the past data, or [B]only[/B] the amount of time that is loaded onto the chart itself?

I know it’s a bit confusing, but hopefully what I’m asking can be understood!

Yes, you are correct about timeframes. On a 15 minute chart each candle represents 15 minutes, on a 4 hour chart each candle is 4 hours, etc…

Who are you using for your charting? It is a very odd thing to have to load your charts the way you are. I’m not sure I could trade like that. I am constantly zooming my charts in and out, and scrolling back and forth through various time frames to get whatever info I need at the moment.

I strongly suggest you dump that platform and get something else. Any reputable broker should give you a decent trading platform. I’d recommend a broker with MetaTrader 4 (MT4) such as InterbankFX.

I can’t really answer your other questions since I’ve never used such a weird trading platform before. :slight_smile:

Actually, I don’t use MB Trading’s charting software. I refer to web-based Forex charts from two websites that are not brokers. But MB Trading’s prices always match up with the actual market prices. With the charts I use, you can actually use their “default dates” or you can set your own, I guess that’s what was confusing to me.

I figured out that if my trading style is holding positions for anywhere from a day to a few days, I should be focused on 1-hr charts and also be looking at 15-min. and 4-hr charts.