This was probably the last warm weekend of the summer up here in the North. The weather promised to be lightly cloudy and sunny. It was the perfect occasion to drive to our country hideaway. Sometimes it seems there is no better combination for sorting out one’s thoughts than to be in the heart of nature doing some heavy manual work. I have wanted to think some more about what I want to do with this thread and this seemed the ideal opportunity…
This has been an exceptionally hot and dry summer and the level of the water at our lake has dropped by a record amount of nearly a metre. But this has presented the dubious benefit of being able to dig out some rocks at the shore for a new mooring for a small rowing boat - this was the heavy manual labour bit!
So I return with bruised ankles and an aching back, worn out but content, and with some more concrete aims for this thread.
I have two broad areas that I want to focus on.
One is to promote interest, awareness, knowledge and enthusiasm for the European area in general (for me as well as for anyone else interested! ) .
The other is to follow the fortunes of the single currency, the Euro, against the other major global currencies. And it is here that I have previously had some lack of clarity about how to do this with a longer term perspective without getting bogged down into a kind of _“trades/commentaries for the day”!_scenario. (Although I will inevitably still highlight some specific trades whenever there is something of interest happening).
So instead of reinventing the wheel, I thought I’d start with a kind of “heatmap/SW” presentation, such as found on many threads here and other internet sites, but based on my own charts. This is not some new mathematical construction based on exotic, mysterious formulas, it is purely based on a visual assessment of my charts.
I have also repackaged the charts that I want to use for this purpose for greater clarity. But these are not trading charts, they simply illustrate issues. I am a great believer in the greater power of vision over words
What I am looking at is the Daily v 4-hour charts and I am looking for some kind of confluence in the landscape architecture presented in these for each of the major pairs. In other words, I am looking to identify longer term trends on a daily basis and then determine which 4H charts are currently in synch with those trends.
This is how it looks as at last Friday’s close:
Here are three different situations apparent:
-
same colours show pairs where the daily and 4H are synchronised, either with weak Euro (reds) or strong Euro (greens). At present, there are such three pairs: CHF, NZD and AUD. However these three pairs have been in their current trends for some time already and I would be a little cautious about entering new positions now…
-
Opposing colours show pairs where (usually) the Daily is still in one direction but the 4-Hour has crossed into the opposite. The EURCAD is like that now and here is the situation visually:
Here, the daily chart (left side) is still positive, incl RSI, but under its 200 SMA. But the 4H (right side) is now negative, incl RSI, but above its 200SMA. This suggests to me that this pair is indecisive and not trending. It may well offer short term trades but I would not choose this pair right now for a longer term trade.
- Orange combined with Red or Green. These are the pairs that I put on my “Watch List”. They are not quite “there” yet but the potential is. There are currently three pairs in this category: USD YEN and GBP. For the time being I exclude the GBP because of the increasing tensions and drama, and looming deadlines with the Brexit negotiations. This is a unique situation in the European area and no one knows what will be the outcome or how it is going to affect economic and financial issues. It is prone to sudden big moves and high volatility based on rumours and statements as much as any concrete events. This is not an environment for long term trends.
But both USD and JPY are currently in this category. They are both negative on the 4-Hour and the Daily has turned flat, even trading below key MA levels. But the Dailys are not yet negative and so the shorter term negativity could easily be short-lived - which is typical in a broad consolidation phase.
But these “Orange” cases are potentially at the start of the next big trends, and that is why I have them on the “Watch list”
Here is the EURJPY as an example:
The Friday close (Left side, red vertical) showed an upmove that has stalled, but not yet turned down. The RSI was neutral but the MAs were still in the “right” order. But we were under the 200SMA, the price closed under the MA “belt”, and there are a series of lower highs. The 4-Hour, by now, was already now negative, and, after a bit of juggling around the 4H 200SMA, has this morning remained under it. I guess this has to be my favourite right now and I will be watching how this closes tonight on the Daily…
BUT!!! A word of warning! This entire setup is a prototype, borne over last weekend whilst doing hard labour shifting rock piles. There are no recommendations here. This is purely my personal attempt to try to focus on the bigger picture of where the Euro is viv à vis the other majors. Of course, I will be taking my own trades within this, but I am making no recommendations to others here!