Seems that Forex is never ending with information. I found an article about the FX fix at 4PM. Where Institutional Banks and large fund traders and the like, not us little guys; have a 30 or 60 second window right before 4 PM to spike up or sell short a currency to make some doe. I know most of us FX traders already know that spikes and manipulation are common occurrences in FX. Has anyone have any other idea how this 4 PM window might effect the entire trading day. As a lot of traders don’t trade after 4 pm anyway.
If you are trying to get into, or out of, forex positions at 4pm London time (plus or minus a few minutes), then the volatility created at that time of day may hurt you. Or, if you are holding positions with close stops that can be hit by momentary price spikes at that time, then you may be hurt. Otherwise, the 4pm Fix will not affect you as a retail spot forex trader.
The 4pm Fix has no lasting effect on the rest of the trading day.
There has been a lot in the news lately regarding the “fixing” of currency prices. A major scandal is being uncovered. However, many people are being confused by the way this scandal has been reported in some of the “news” sources.
[B]The Fix, by itself, is neither evil nor unethical,[/B] although it can introduce some momentary volatility into the market. The Fix serves to establish a mark-to-market price-point for assets priced in various currencies — and, as such, it serves a useful commercial purpose.
[B]Manipulation of the Fix, on the other hand, is both evil and unethical,[/B] and it’s probably also illegal — although the relative lack of regulation in the worldwide forex market means that specific laws against this sort of insider trading are absent, or ill-defined.
In your post, you didn’t identify the article you said you had read.
If you haven’t read this article — How The Forex “Fix” May Be Rigged — from [I]Investopedia,[/I] you should do so. It may help to answer some of your questions.
And this from the WSJ:
FX Math: Volume, Not Collusion, Likely Cause of ‘Fix’ Mayhem - MoneyBeat - WSJ
And good old Bloomberg:
Currency Spikes at 4 P.M. in London Provide Rigging Clues - Bloomberg
Kind of my sentiment. That is the same article I read. Thanks for clarifying.