What’s the purpose of indicators if indicators follow price?
The classic view of what indicators are for says that price action tells you whch market to buy, and the technical indicator tells you when to buy it.
This is not how the world actually works, it’s more complicated than that. In reality you can use price or an indicator to tell you what to buy and also when to buy it, and you can use price to confirm what the indicator is saying as well as the indicator to confirm what price is saying. So they’re both useful but as your question suggests, price is the most important indicator.
They are helpful to analyze the market and predict the trend.
If you had to pick just one trading indicator, what would be your top choice?
If anyone knows a better indicator than the range filter indicator, please suggest and explain it.
MACD is another indicator which can be used for buy and sell signals. It shows the difference between two moving averages (12-period and 26-period)
It has two lines: MACD Line and Signal Line.
When the MACD line crosses above the signal line, it indicates a buy signal.
When the MACD line crosses below the signal line, it indicates a sell signal.
Read more about it here: How to Use the MACD Indicator - Babypips.com
The purpose of indicators is to make continuous calculations based on the constant input of dynamic prices that the human brain would not be able to calculate in a timely manner, and to provide a visual output of these calculations for human interpretation.
The usefulness of indicators is an entirely different topic.
Exactly this. It’s a way of displaying stuff you don’t want to (and/or don’t have time to) calculate for yourself. The mistake is to imagine that they’re intrinsically “predictive”.
Hellooo! I think the others have already answered your question, but just in case you wanna read up more on this, maybe you can also check out the lessons about indicators.
There’s quite a number of them so hopefully, the school will help you kinda pace the information.
Indicators help you make sense of what’s happening on the charts—they show trends, momentum, or even when a price might reverse. But remember, indicators alone won’t guarantee success! Experience matters just as much as learning how to use them. Personally, I choose indicators based on my own strategies, manage my emotions carefully, and believe in having other skills besides just trading. Working with a coach or having a broker with great support can also boost your confidence, especially if you’re not a full-time trader like me.
Indicators are used to make price movements clearer. They help identify trends, strengths and possible reversals in the market. By using indicators, you get signals that can help you make better decisions.
Thanks, @Fa_rees!
Appreciate your suggestion about MACD! Your explanation was super clear, and I’ll look into it. Always great to learn from experienced traders.
It can have any settings you like. The 12 and 26 numbers date from a 6-day week and daily charts only and don’t really apply to forex anyway. It’s well explained above -
Indicators basically help in trend identification