Hey there, just curious about Moving averages and all the different types and what period / shift they should have? Cheers!
The best explanation you’ll find is at the free school here
I am not use moving average now, but as I know moving average has two type, it’s simple moving average and exponential moving average, some trader might they use moving average crossover as signal confirmation with different setup ma, the rules is imple if small ma crossing up bigger ma, its ime to buy and likiewise.
I agree with eddieb.
People use different types of moving averages according to their personal trading style.
Most people do not use a shift in their moving averages (most software packages like MT4 place standard moving averages without a shift).
Thanks for the advice. I use MT4 at the moment trying to get the hang of moving averages. The default one has a period of 14. Guessing thats standard. Thank you guys 
[B]There is no standard.[/B] The default period is simply a starting point for launching the moving-average tool. Just about [I]any period[/I] could have been set as the default.
• 7, 10, 13, 15, 20, 50, etc. are all commonly used periods.
• 50-day and 200-day SMA’s (simple moving averages) are widely used in most financial markets, primarily on daily charts, but they can be imported onto shorter-time-frame charts.
• 13-, 21-, 34-, and 55-period EMA’s (exponential moving averages) are used by Raghee Horner on every one of her charts. You may have noticed that those periods are Fibonacci-sequence numbers.
• 60-period SMA’s are used on the 4-hr, 1-hr, and 5-min charts in Andy Perry’s 3 Ducks Trading System.
• 18-period and 40-period EMA’s are used in a common moving-average cross-over system for day-trading and short-term trading.
• It’s possible to combine an SMA and an EMA in a cross-over system.
• SMA’s and EMA’s are just 2 of the many “flavors” of moving average created by clever technical traders.
Don’t underestimate the limitless variety of moving averages, and combinations of moving averages.
But, don’t get suckered into searching for the perfect moving-average, or the perfect moving-average cross-over system. There is no “perfect” choice. There is no holy grail — moving average, or otherwise.
Want a moving average? — Pick one.
Hi Kichie,
As Clint has detailed above, there are many varieties of moving averages from which to choose. You mentioned that you’re using the MT4 platform which means you can even choose from the many custom moving average indicators developed for that platform.
Best to test some out some of the more popular ones that Clint listed on a demo and see which one(s) you like.
What time frame(s) are you looking to trade and what other indicators are you considering? That might help you decide which moving average to use.
I use 8 and 21 and 100 ema on daily charts.
Better to come to your own conclusions testing them in different timeframes and settings. Something that can work for me may not work for you. I use 200-EMA on my Hotforex platform as a secondary tool to check trend (though I prefer to focus on news mostly)
Can’t thank you all enough for your input. Clint a massive thanks, that was the perfect answer I was looking for.
I use moving averages mostly for trailing stops on daily charts. I have a 20, 50 and 200 sma plotted there.
Also the 5ema vs 10ema cross is a good indicator of the current trend on the timframe you are using.
I mostly use EMA89 on all time-frames.
Here you can read and learn everything you want to know about Moving Averages:
Technical Indicators and Overlays [ChartSchool]
Thanks for that link, Rambo.
There are a lot of websites that explain overlays and indicators, but the one you linked to is the best one I’ve seen. I have bookmarked that site.