Lack of time prevented me from posting last week, so here is what happened to the trades discussed on these pages. Overall, my results were mixed, even on the poor side. Nothing tragic, to be sure, but a weak period to start the month of March. Just hope that market patterns and conditions will become more compatible with my way of trading soon.
My trade in the USD-CAD started well enough, with a fill at 1.1032, as intended. The price was falling nicely, coming close to my target of 1.042. It bottomed out at 1.0954 and recovered from there. Very often, I get out trades if prices stop just before my objectives, but this time I failed to recognize what was happening. I should have closed the position at around 1.0980-85, but eventually settled for 1.1006, a stop placed before announcement of Canadian Employment data. Not much to analyze there, numbers were bad and my stop was hit, with the trade yielding only 26 pips.
My other trade, one I had been seeking for about two weeks was a total dud. The GBP-JPY took out my sell order at 169.00 and then immediately turned around. At least here, I had the presence of mind to cut my losses relatively fast, for 73 pips loss. I more or less followed my own rules about closing a trade if a breakout does not have a follow-up right away. The loss was only about 1/3 of my intended target, making it reasonable. At the time, I thought the price would attempt another leg down, hence the new sell order on this chart at 168.72. Obviously, by now the situation has changed and this order is no longer valid.
Markets closed on Friday with increased volatility, so it is possible this activity will carry over the weekend. If this happens, gaps are possible, just like they developed last week. Finally, after prolonged absence, we had price gaps I found tradable. My attention focused on the AUD-JPY, where I simply followed the most recent minor high on the 5m chart, the chart above shows the set up and its objective.
It was a relatively easy trade, which I closed once the target area was reached, for a profit of 23 pips. If we see gaps again in a few hours, I will be looking for trading opportunities, following the above script. In the next post, I will discuss other trades under consideration. Have a great trading week!
Mike K.