The Ichimoku Report Nov. 16th

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 16-11-2009

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EURUSD
Not quite trotting in place like a show pony but being rejected at the new highs while making mild gains on the week, the pair has yet to close above the big figure at 1.5000 which we feel is the first requirement for new buyers to come in.  The 2nd requirement will be breaking a closing above the yearly highs at 1.5061.  If these two events should occur, then we expect a run up to 1.5281 which was the double bottom in the summer of 08′.  Any weekly closes above this level suggest the 1.6000 barriers will likely be under attack and really challenge the previous notion in the banking world that EURUSD is ‘protected’ at 1.6000 from going any higher.  The angle of this trend and the lack of closing or even piercing below the weekly tenkan suggest the trend is alive and well but has the aforementioned hurdles to spark new technical buying.  Any weekly closes below the Tenkan would be the first sign of trouble and the 20ema will be the next defense levels tested.  Momentum models suggest the pair should continue doing what its doing like being on cruise control but a break below the zero line on momentum could be the start of some serious unwinding.

eu-weekly2

GBPUSD
Posting its first 4week gain in a row for 2009, the move is consistent yet tentative.  The pair has yet to close above the weekly Kumo flat top which we feel would be an interesting catalyst for potentially new buying.   If it closes and holds above the flat top, this would likely push the pair higher to challenge 1.7000.  Why is this flat top so hard to break?  Because it also represents the 50% fib level of the 2.0151 - 1.3500 downmove so any closes above here trigger two technical events which leave scope for the 61.8% fib to come into play likely in the 1st Q of 2010.  A strong break but rejection above the Kumo will likely send the pair to the weekly 20ema just under 1.6400 and challenge the base building there.

gu-weekly2

AUDUSD
Bouncing off the weekly Tenkan as if the pair was just looking for a reason to be bought up, the pair literally touched the Tenkan, went 12pips past it, then launched and closed 272pips higher.  The pair followed suit the following week buy opening and not making a single pip lower from the open to close above the yearly high (was .9326) closing at .9341.  This should reconfirm to buyers the trend is still in play but is not really running on a lot of new buying, just the current momentum is still in play carrying the pair.  Momentum models combined with Ichimoku Analysis suggest that until the pair closes below the weekly Tenkan, we still want to be buying as the best the pair has been able to do is close two weeks down in a row while producing 5 and 10 week stretches of nothing but gains starting in March of this year.  This thing is still trucking and has not shown its ready to give up yet.

au-weekly2

USDCAD
Rejecting ‘before’ the pair reached the weekly 20ema, the pair has dropped for two straight weeks and is opening the third threatening to take out the previous weekly lows.  If it can muster this feat, the yearly lows at 1.0200 will likely come under attack but the strategy for the pair is simple - wait for a rejection close to the 20ema (weekly chart) and use the Tenkan as the 1st target and the lows for the last 6 weeks as the 2nd target.  The pair is making an effort to gain some upside but every strong thrust is continually met with more selling so we like finding rallies and playing for more downside. If the pair fails to close above the 20ema by the end of the year, we suspect it will have one more rally in early 2010 and then start a strong leg down likely gunning for parity again.

uc-weekly2

NZDUSD
Wanting to make up for the losses from 3 weeks ago, its making a strong case to let traders know the trend is not over.  Posting two strong weeks of buying, the pair showed its first real signs of weakness by closing below a rising Tenkan and it acting as resistance for rice.  Luckily the pair opened last week and simply climbed so this was a short term good sign for bulls.  However, the pair still has ground to make up and the yearly highs at .7632 will provide an interesting test.  Any rejection there which has conviction to it will with high probability target the Tenkan.  If this is followed by a 2nd week of selling (something not seen since June 09′) then the 20ema will likely be the next downside target.  We feel at current price there is an inherent risk issue of buying so but a daily TKx signals is forming which is common to see before a major resistance level is broken.  Cautious buying at best until break and close above yearly highs.

nu-weekly2

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

Weekly Ichimoku Analysis Nov. 2nd+

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 02-11-2009

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EURUSD
The armor has been dented.  The first signs of damage to the upward assault have been marked on the shield and the first wound delivered.  Why?

Since the pair broke above the weekly 20ema and the Kumo, there has not been one weekly loss this heavy on a closing basis.  On top of that, in the last 33 weeks, we’ve only had two other closes (on a weekly basis) this strong or more.  On top of this, in comparison to the other two candles of this magnitude, this one opened closer to its high and closed closer to its low so the selling pressure this week was most consistent.

Does this mean I want to be short EURUSD yet?  Not necessarily.  Being long USD is not my favorite prospect at the moment and needs more confirmation.  Am I open to being short now?  Yes, with more confirmation since the armor has been weakened.

Some options for shorting would either be towards the previous yearly highs or on a weekly close below the Tenkan (has not happened in 27 weeks).  Options for going long would be on a bounce off the weekly Tenkan or on the 20ema.

Overall Kumo structure suggests medium to long term the trend should remain up.  But there the price action suggests a short term correction could be underway.  Be warned as overall prospects for being bullish are not as golden as they were before.

eu-weekly

GBPUSD
The picture for this pair did not get any clearer after last weeks close.  If anything, it made it more annoying as it posted an inside week.  The good thing about this is probabilities suggest this week will be an outside one.  Themalo thing about this is the direction of which the break will occur is less clear from the price action.  The Tenkan, 20ema and Kijun are coming closer suggesting decision has yet ot really manifest itself so building heavy positions is not recommended until we have a solid break, particularly above 1.6750ish or below 1.6200.

Price is still inside the kumo and if we do not get a close outside of it on either side by year end, the beginning of the next year should get messy till early summer.  Overall, until a break of the aforementioned levels, we recommend shorter day trades on this while not holding any positions beyond an intraday session.

AUDUSD
The outlook on this pair is similar than the EURUSD except the pair had its strongest open-close loss in the last 33 weeks so the stakes areup’d a bit.  The pair has found buyers at the weekly Tenkan so this should inspire bulls for now.  Pero, another failure at the yearly top made two weeks ago, or at a fib level from that top (.9326) to the current tenkan reading would strengthen the bears claws.

Our strategy for this is the same as the EURUSD on both sides of the market along with the overall medium/longer term outlook.  The only thing which would change our long term view would be a weekly close below theKumo but we place this at about a <20% chance of happening and feel overall any strong dips are opportunities to buy AUDUSD for another run up to an eventual parity which we feel will happen in 1st or 2nd Q of 2010 since the overall weekly kumo is building over time.

au-weekly

USDCAD
Producing back to back weekly gains - something it has done only 3x in the last 34 weeks the next test for the bulls is the weekly 20ema, an entity which strongly rejected it the last time.  The difference this time is a major fib for the swing move down from 1.3000 was right there at the 20ema when it happened.  On top of this, the weekly advance prior to attacking the 20ema the last time was smaller in nature than the current week that just closed suggesting there is more power behind this move than the last.  This is also represented mathematically in the last major attack on the 20ema was 580pips over 4weeks while this last advance was roughly 580 pips over two weeks - an important fact to be considered.

One other important note was the kumo wherein last time it was much thicker and in the zone of the 20ema whereas now its further away from price (less of a threat) and thinner in nature so a reversal is much more likely to happen now than ever.  If it does not break the kumo to the upside between now and end of March next year, chances for bulls to establish control weaken.

uc-weekly1

NZDUSD
The funny thing about last week was that the pairs that were doing the best against the USD suffered the most while the pairs doing the worst endured the least amount of torture.  Not really funny as it makes sense from an order flow perspective, pero - the kiwi really took one on the chin uppercut style.  In fact, it was the only trending pair which closed below the weekly tenkan which is the most damaging to the bulls technically.  So far, the pair has now treated the tenkan as resistance while making modest gains.  If the current model plays itself out with the pairs that had done the best against the USD are now going to fare the worst, the kiwi is in for a larger fall.

Downside tests are the 20ema, something not seen since the first week in may so any test if this should be very interesting with a close below likely resulting in a drastic and quick fall to the kijun causing a technical event to force bulls to exit most of their positions.  Overall, we feel the medium to longer term bullish structure is in place as the kumo is lo mismo to the AUDUSD and supports an upside advance as long as no weekly close below the kumo happens between now and early March 2010.  Dips that travel to the south will likely return north for an attack upon 82 cents (the high from 2008).

nu-weekly

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

Weekly Ichimoku Analysis Oct.26th+

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 26-10-2009

Tagged Under : , , , , , , , ,

EURUSD
Since its weekly close above the 20ema in early May 09′ and the Kumo break later that month, the pair has yet to post two weekly closes back to back.  In fact, out of 28 weeks, the pair has only closed down 10 posting a 65% weekly up close for the last 6months.  Currently its riding a 3 week wave of higher closes and our analysis points to a higher close.

The pair is showing more comfort everyday above the 1.5000 handle which is very different than when it attempted to wear the clothes of 1.60 more comfortable only lasting a day above and then getting slammed the following.  We feel the more time above 1.5000, the more the market will realize its ok there and will start to make a base there for a launch higher.

Kumo analysis says unless there is an apocalyptic drop from here, the base above 1.36 and 1.40 is in place and the pair will likely use any dips there to launch another attack on 1.50 and 1.60.  The three amigos (Tenkan / 20ema / Kijun) are all in order and pretty much climbing so should support on any dips.  Price has not closed below the Tenkan since late April and has used it as a springboard for more buying and higher prices.  A break here may make the bulls question their long positions but a 20ema would be more convincing and possibly create a technical event to sell.  However, we feel this is unlikely and people will overall want to be buying Euros of Greenbacks.

eu-weekly1

GBPUSD
Starting off last week like a champ, the pair was threatening to close above the 1.6650 area and gain 300pips on the week which would have been impressive.  However the pair had to take some bad news on the chin and in the gut when GDP was announced as a contraction with 30+bloomberg analysts all calling for a .2% increase.  Traders dumped pounds by the kilos as the pair reacted as badly to the news as someone getting bitten by a Black Mamba snake while opening a letter from the IRS saying their being audited - in other words, the pair suffered badly.  Dropping almost 2cents in a matter of an hour, the pair ended the week closing down instead of up and all the efforts by the bulls were annihilated.

We think this will create either two likely scenarios;
A) traders will have digested the news and overall feel better about being long the GBP than the USD

or

B) the stink from the dreaded GDP numbers will be too much to not notice in the room and traders will not be really interested in being long GBP so may pile into EUR/GBP longs or just sell GBP’s as a whole.  We are more in the latter camp if the pair does not come out of the gate this week with a stiff jab, strong right cross followed by an uppercut that lands on the chin.

Technically the pair does have some strong support (not from price) but moreso from the 20ema and the Tenkan which are flat and below.  This could be a technical reason for traders to get long and would be a good pricing with the Kijun climbing wanting to come to the party. Any close below the 20ema will likely erode the confidence of bulls and likely see a fair amount of longs exit sending hte pari back to 1.60 and below to test the support in the 1.58/59 region.  Caution advised on building heavy longs.

gu-weekly1

AUDUSD
Still climbing, still gaining week after week, the pair continues to post gains albeit small ones.  With only 4 out of the last 12 weekly gains only being at or outside the weekly ATR, it appears as if only heavy longs are being added when the pair finds itself near the weekly Tenkan or daily 20ema.  Other than that, we feel its simply momentum, combined with the fact nobody really wants to be long USD vs. AUD and that AUD is likely in an increasing rate cycle the pair is marching on.  We feel the march will go on but that 95 or perhaps parity could be what Russia was to Napoleon - too far an advance without the supplies to support the troop effort.

Based on the pattern, we prefer only buying on a dip early in the week or after a weekly close down (as long as its not drastic or outside the weekly ATR).  The pair has shown an affinity to dip each week only to end up closing higher with only 7 weekly closes down since breaking above the kumo while only 5 out of 14 up closes did not have a dip at least 1/3 into the previous weekly range.

au-weekly1

USDCAD
Posting its 1st weekly close outside of the previous weeks range for the first time in over two months, the pair looks set to test the weekly Tenkan where a close above will likely give it enough lift to attack the 20ema, something that has not been touched since the beginning of July.  All three amigos (Tenkan/20ema/Kijun) which will make any upside surges pass some tests before convincing traders the pair is going long.  Overall though the short term lift off the lows this year appear to be for real as we have good momentum divergence coming into the bounce.  Another weekly close up, especially outside of the previous weeks range would suggest the bounce is for real and the 20ema is next up to bat for the longer term bears.

Anyone wanting to go long could trade a break outside last weeks high or take a 61.8% dip of the previous weekly range which is right about the open for the last week.

uc-weekly1

NZDUSD
Under appreciated by the news and analysts across the board, the Kiwi has been more stable against the greenback than any other pair out there, even the more popular AUD with its fancy rate increase.  Still only having 1 weekly close down since the Kumo break, the pair is posting smaller retracements and larger gains in relationship to the ATR than its big brother AUD.

The pair breezed through the 61.8% & 78.6% fibs of the 2008 drop and momentum is still hanging around the upper regions so we feel the pair will likely gain this week.  Upper resistance levels to watch are last weeks high around .7645 and .7900.  After that, we feel .8000 will be under serious threat if the garrison of spears and shields waiting for them there are breached.  Beyond that, there is not much left except the 2008 highs just above .8200 so bears are running out of real-estate to hold their ground.

nu-weekly1

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

USDCAD threatening 1.0500

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 20-10-2009

Tagged Under : , , , , , , ,

For the first time in a long time the USDCAD is about to do the following;

1) close above the previous weeks high (last time was early August 09′)
2) have a daily close above the Tenkan line (daily chart - last time was Oct. 1st 09′)
3) close inside the kumo on the 4hr chart (last time was Oct. 4th)

All of this is happening today and with a vengeance.  Why do I use such strong language? Because its the most recent price action, particularly the last 4hr candle which is the cause of all this.  This is the single largest top-bottom 4hr candle in the last 90days so it stands out in my book.  Anything that happens once in every 90days stands out in my book (particularly meeting with my accountant to do the quarterly taxes - again an event which happens only once in every 90days).

Thus, in the short term, this is one of the hottest seats at the Blackjack table.

Starting at the weekly chart, you can see the pair is really threatening to post a close above the previous weekly high for the first time in a few months, but what is more interesting is the price action causing this.  Last week the pair attempted to form a bottom at 1.0200.  This week, in attempting to re-visit that bottom, we fell way short and formed a higher high.  The current candle is above the previous weeks high with two strong wicks to the downside suggesting the rejection zone could be the real McCoy.  If we get continued follow up buying this week, we could also be creating another reversal candle such as a morning star formation - all supporting the same look - the short term bullish outlook.

usdcad-weekly

Moving down to the Daily charts, the pair is also threatening to close above the Tenkan line for the first time this month.  On top of that, its in the same day pushing up against the 20ema.  This candle would support the overall short term bullish structure and simply confirm the 1.0200 bottom is not wearing a bullish costume but charging down the streets of Pamplona, Span in July looking to put its horns into some person running with more adrenaline than a 1st time Sky Driver who is afraid of heights and has no life insurance plan.  On top of that, the upcoming Kumo is rather anemic suggesting there is a window opening for the bulls to push past the Kumo resistance giving them more ground to trample on.

usdcad-daily

Lastly, on the 4hr chart, we have the 1st close inside the Kumo.  Notice how price has been below it since the 1.0800 level and most of its time being enlisted below the 20ema and Kijun.  This long term pattern has just been interrupted by the most recent 4hr candle which has taken out all of them and ventured into the Kumo.  This further confirms the bulls short term efforts and with the two white lines (acting like field goal posts) present an area where price is most likely to break which could represent a trend change.  However, the fact the Kumo is declining during that stretch is not a good sign because it would mean the support of the Kumo is falling thus bringing the floor lower instead of rising (which is what we want in an upward break).  Thus, any kumo breaks in this region should be treated with caution because they may want to gravitate towards the flat top ahead.  We feel this would be a much better region to enter longs as it happens to coincide with a role reversal level and previous ceiling for the pair.

usdcad-4hr

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

Weekly Ichimoku Report Oct. 12th

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 12-10-2009

Tagged Under : , , , , , , , , , ,

EURUSD

Threatening to take out the 2009 highs (only 3 weeks ago so not that dramatic), the EURUSD is nothing but bullish as it remains above the Tenkan and has not posted a close below the line on the weekly charts since late April this year. The only way you do that is with continual steady buying for the pair. Dips have been minor and the bears have at best posted two weeks of declines in a row while bulls have been winning the fight once it cleared the Kumo. The challenging part about this pair is on a weekly basis, there are wicks on both sides of the fence so dips and rejections are all over the place. Anyone holding the pair more than a day is likely to get whipsawed so for medium term swing players, buying on a dip during the week or for sellers, selling on a rejection is your best bet however with the overall play above the Tenkan line being so consistent, bears have probably been vomiting losses like the girl in exorcist (the original) so unless you got the stomach for it (or vomiting losses), we suggest buying.

eu-weekly

If the technical tooth fairy comes, then a dip or pong off the Tenkan is the play. Breaks have only worked out 2 weeks out of the last 24 so the Vegas odds are not in your favor buying breaks.

GBPUSD
Selling off for the last 4 weeks on a closing basis, again more downside is envisioned (without the use of a crystal ball) should the pair break the weekly Kijun (red line). If that happens, we expect technical selling on the pair to increase and like selling off the 20ema as a rejection play (weekly chart).

As time goes on, the GBPUSD is getting replaced by the EURUSD 2.0 which is outpacing it in beating up the USD. In fact, the GBP and USD are in an almost deadlock as to who is going to win this contest of horns. Ultimately, we do not favor the USD against much, except perhaps the Iraqi Dinar and the Indian Rupee for the rest of this year, but I digress.

Getting back to the Ichimoku, the lines are becoming more flat and compressed but still sloping downward showing the pressure to the downside has not abated. The flat Kumo top could act as the rear guard for this pair should it break the 20ema and Tenkan to the upside. Another failed attempt here would intimate the pair will likely head back down and stay inside the cloud for the remainder of the year. The Kumo has a thick hide so should a break and close occur on either side, we expect the following move to be strong.

gu-weekly

Based on this kumo formation, we would be surprised if the pair breaks the 1.6850 (kumo top) to 1.45 range for the rest of the year. If I were a betting man (only am in Vegas - blackjack or roulette), then I’d lay more chips on this pair breaking the lower belly of the kumo. Regardless, for this week you have the key levels to watch.

AUDUSD
A simpleton these days, the AUDUSD has been relentless in its attack on the greenback climbing 15 of the last 23 weeks (65.7% kill ratio) and only posting one close below the Tenkan in the same amount of time. Anyone looking to sell this pair at any time soon should be questioned to see if they recently suffered any head trauma or were hit by a truck. The pair has only mounted a total of 8 selling weeks since the uptrend started back in march (32weeks ago) and has climbed for a consecutive 8.5months (including this month). How could you not be making money on this trend?

Since we have quickly concluded with any selling notions, the question comes as to where/how to buy into this trend. Options:

1) dips to the 20ema (daily chart)

2) touch of the tenkan (weekly chart)

3) any weekly retracement to the 38.2% or 50% fibs of the prior weeks price action with stops below the previous weekly lows (a strategy that has worked 9 out of 11x)

au-weekly

Kumo formations like this suggest continued uptrend and likely for the rest of the year.

As long as the tenkan/20ema/kijun lines hold this relative structure, the AUD will keep punishing the USD. Add in the surprise rate hike by the RBA and you have all the spices for more upside.

USDCAD
Finally doing something interesting, the pair broke below the slow downward dribble it was in and in one week, posted its largest open/close drop since July while taking out barriers at 1.0500. Although the Momentum is wanting to disagree with this downtrend, we do not see much reprieve for bulls until a close above the 20ema (weekly charts) prints. In fact, any attacks at the 20ema (as long as they are engulfing the previous candle) could be treated as a rejection play for more downside.

uc-weekly

The kumo is sloping downward at an aggressive angle and unless this pair starts to ravage the upside (which we put those odds around the same as getting hit by lightning twice, or the Chicago Cubs winning a World Series in the next 3 years – no offense to Cubs fans, I’m from Chicago and would love them to win, just being realistic), then the pair should likely close below 1.1500 for the year and the 1Q outlook for this pair suggests bulls will have a tough time making any headway until mid 2010.

Riddle me this: Which pair has climbed for the last 12 out of 13 weeks against the USD?
If you answered with an Antipodean pair like the NZDUSD, you guessed right. Yep, 12 out of 13 weeks. Not even Tiger Woods has won that many tournaments in a row. Under the radar while the AUDUSD has been making all the headlines, this pair has posted an impressive 25 out of 33 weekly up-closes and only lost ground 4 weeks in the last 20. The trend is so strong it cannot even touch its twinkle-toes on the Tenkan line. In fact, it has not touched it since July 17th (ironically my birthday) which is awefully impressive. Unless someone comes in with a Trump size account, we could not be paid to sell this pair for any ransom.

nu-weekly

This is one of the few pairs where buying on breaks has worked out as long as you can hold till the end of the week. Buying on the weekly open has also worked well (remember the 12/13 stat?) but small to medium retracements have been offered every week save 2 in the last 13 so we’ll look for the dip as a buying opportunity. Unless this pair runs into King Leonidus and the Spartans at Thermopylae, this trend should continue rolling.

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Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

Still thinking of buying the AUDUSD this week?

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 07-10-2009

Tagged Under : , , , , , , , , , , ,

In case you were kidnapped, heavily inebriated or on prescription drugs for the last, oh say 33 weeks, the AUDUSD has been in an uptrend.  On top of that, they recently did something no other central bank has done lately - raise their interest rates.  This has separated them from the rest of them and added nitro to the trend.  But, the question has to be asked, is there more to this uptrend?  If so, should be buying into the rest of the week now that we have hit hump day?

Statistically speaking - No!

Lets get into the numbers which suggest why we should not be buying.

Since March 6th of this year, the pair has had 31 weeks of price action behind it

7 losers

24 winners

Do we want to be buying as our general approach to the AUDUSD?
Verdict = Yes

Average weekly range (high to low) for those 31 weeks = 341pips

High value = 452

Low value = 135

# of weeks it has closed above the 341 avg. = 20 (65%)
Current weekly range = 314pips

Difference to the avg. = 27pips

Difference to the High = 138pips
Thus, if we were to this week hit or equal the weekly high, there is a potential for 138pips of profit…not bad, but downside risk is well over 200pips.

What is more interesting is how price has been behaving as of late.  Thus, we present exhibit A which is the weekly chart on the AUDUSD

Notice how the pair has behaved in the beginning of the uptrend.  The candles were closer towards the highs and much larger in high/low range.
However as of late, the closes have been much closer to the opens with the open/close gains being smaller (current week excluded).  Also, there are

wicks or retracements on every single week (except one on sept. 11th week) since the week ending July 31st (over 9 weeks ago).  Thus, statistically,

88% of the time the pair has retraced on any given week suggesting waiting for a pullback before entering has been the way to play.

Now take a look at exhibit B, a graphical representation of how many pips the pair has averaged (weekly basis) outside or above the 341pip avg. and how much below.

The weeks of the trend are from left to right with week 1 being March 6th.  The numbers on the y-axis represent in 10s of pips (.001 = 10 pips) how many pips the

week was able to post above the the statistical average.

Notice in the beginning of the chart, the line is above 0, showing the pair was producing weekly ranges .002 (20pips) outside the weekly average range from high to low.

Not surprising as the trend has some good power once it clears the weekly 20ema.  However, notice how the line falls off and on a week to week basis, the ranges have been getting

smaller suggesting the trend is losing steam.  Not necessarily that its changing, but just that we should expect to make less on a weekly basis out of the pair, particularly on an open to

closing basis.  Important to know.

Thus, considering that only out of 24 positive weekly closes, none of them since July 17th have closed above the weekly average (341pips) and the current week has already moved 314pips,

do we really want to be adding on large positions around the current levels on the AUDUSD?

Verdict = No

Solution = statistics say wait for a pullback before buying.

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

The Week Ahead - Oct. 4th 09′

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 05-10-2009

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EURUSD
For 11 weeks now, the EURUSD has posted closes above the weekly Ichimoku Cloud and consequently, all of them have been above the Tenkan (white line).
Interestingly enough for this trader, that line comes in at the previous breakout level of 1.4450ish and also the 38.2% fib of the last major upswing after the summer consolidation from
June to August.
We feel this should provide an interesting test and could be a reasonable place to park some light longs (reasonable as in not betting the farm but taking some of your vegas winnings and playing a hand).  If it gets there violently to start the week, then we will want some assurance it will hold looking for a day or several 4hr candles holding there with no closes below that level by more than 30pips.  Any 4hr or daily closes below the 1.44 handle suggest the 2nd fib is under attack at 1.4300 and may test the confidence of the bulls giving them pensamientos.  While the 20ema and 61.8% defenses should hold better than the persian forces at Guagamela facing a young general named Alexander, we also want to note the Kumo formation.  Notice the long weekly flat Senkou Span two at 1.4160.  This flatness could attract price action towards it as it may want to equalize before 2010.  This formation is not the typical formation for a massive bull run so one may want to reconsider putting heavy longs on the EURUSD as it may want to move towards that before starting another run.  Momentum is still at high levels suggesting there is some internal strength for the pair but this would not be our front-runner pair for being bullish - a contender at best and more likely in the vein of a sunday Argentinian casual saunter with the family (having frequent stops for window shopping and getting the kids back in order).

GBPUSD
One of the weaker pairs against the greenback in 09, this pair has yet to have anything meaningful above the Kumo other than a brief flirtation above it like the Groundhog coming above the surface on a cold day or one’s first kiss in the summer of 7th grade - not holding much importance these days.

The vultures are not thinking their meal is coming soon but they are circling the pair as another meltdown may be underway.  At best, the scenario looks as complicated as it would to a 1650chess rated player on the opposite side of the board from Gary Kasparov (for the record, my highest rating in tournament chess was 1830, but that was over 9 years ago and the last random person I played, I lost to at a street game in N.Y.C. - a tall bald guy 6′3″ and over 200lbs who I found out later learned chess in prison so there was an intimidation factor that likely affected my psychology during the game - just for the record).
Back to the business of kings and queens in the currency world, the Pound will have to put on a new pair of clothes to establish any real horns and if its going to put on any costume, the bear claws seem more available (like in the top drawer) than the bulls horns (stuck in the dusty attic) as it currently sits below the Tenkan and 20ema.  With the cloud formation flipping and looking rather anemic, we expect a less than committed future for the pair but better than say Jon and Kate + 8.
AUDUSD
After enjoying a relatively care free-uptrend, the pair has now posted two weekly losses - albeit small, mild and timid in nature like the Congos (monkeys in spanish) I saw in the Nicaraguan forests.  After piercing the cloud for the 2nd time, the pair has marched in blitzkreig fashion towards the 9000 barrier only to come up shy 130pips before the big figure.  What is interesting to note is the last three weekly candles have all closed at relatively the same place as they opened the week, almost as if the breaks were being applied before considering whether to turn left or right at Albuquerque.  Momentum is divergent but still showing upside can be had with a decent effort.  Buying on breaks has not been the play for the last three weeks so we prefer dips to 8500 and 8300 before establishing any more longs but overall, we like the AUD vs. the USD in the medium and long term and could easily envision an even parity against the USD in 2010.
USDCAD
Below the Kumo and 20ema, the latter since mid April, the pair has had resurgences, only to get stymied by the 20ema.  Lately its been drifting down at a non-chalant pace hovering around the 1.06-1.10 region with no real commitment other than to be caught in the decision making process like a shopper at Ikea.  Overall, we feel the only real plays are rejections off the 20ema until we see further commitment on one side of the market or the other.  Kumo formations suggest the best time for a reversal would be the end of year, new year when traders are on vacation.  Beyond that, with no major upside thrusts in the near term, our forecast is for the pair to remain below 1.15 till the end of the year.  Beyond that, there isn’t much interesting about the CAD yet but it has the potential to go from slumbering bear in winter to rattlesnake shaking its tail ready to strike and move fast.
NZDUSD
The only pair to manage an 11week move in one direction (north in case you were wondering) finally saw the streak end before the dirty dozen was hit.  Another interesting note about this pair is its the only one to break the Kumo without doing a Baskin Robbins double dip into the kumo, clearing the top and marching to a consistent tune towards the upside.  The last week created a doji and inside bar so we really feel any plays inside this bar would not be advisable.  Dips to the Tenkan or 20ema suggest promise as long as they do not get their in a Freddy Kreuger violent fashion.  Momentum models suggest support is there and the kumo is one of the few to rise in the early months of 2010 so without any drama in the downside moves, we like the overall medium and long term upside prospects and consider dips to be possible opportunities to go long or add longs (as long as the kumo holds but the rising Senkou Span A is favorable to longs in early 2010.
Overall, this pair is one of our bull favorites and has a chance to continue being a leader of the pack against the USD.
Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

EURGBP Pulling back before next Rise?

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 29-09-2009

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For the first time since mid August of this year, the EURGBP is showing a possible pullback as its batman like bulletproof armor bull-run may have taken too many straight shots in the chest to keep plugging away.  Keep in mind this is only the third time this pair has climbed 800+pips in sub 60days over the last 3 years.

This pair has really benefited not so much from EURO strength, but moreso the Pounds masochistic desire to be sold into oblivion.  The plague probably had more friends back in the day then the GBP currently does in its native country.  The most likely scenario has been a Quinella of GBP weakness and seriously interested EURGBP longs.

However this trend current upmove cannot go ad infinitum, very much like Michael Jordon could not play basketball forever (something this trader is somewhat sad about).  Be that as it may, finding good pullbacks has been like a first time chopstick user trying to get the last few grains of rice in the sushi bowl (forgive the sushi reference, my dinner arrived while I started writing this article) - tis not an easy thing to do.

Looking at the chart below, the last pause (last three red candles on chart below) was a pretty recognizable pullback-continuation scenario as the follow up blue candle obliterated the last three amigos and handsomely breezing past the 61.8% fib of the 9500 - 8400 downmove.  However this last daily candle is most intriguing as the wick and failure to the topside is as large as the entire previous pullback.  Buying anywhere in between the close of that candle and the top would be a highly risky move, so it begs the question of buy on break or wait for a dip?  Although trading breaks has worked out quite well in this current trend, the previous ones looked more like a 3rd-and-1 while the current one looks like a 4th-and-4 (not as inspiring).

Thus, this trader would be in favor of punting and waiting for a pullback toward the previous 61.8%fib which proved a moderate resistance before holding for 3 days.  Alternative plays would be 9000 (where the last pullback held) or to a 20EMA touch (has not been broken since mid-august).

Some clues as to whether these will hold could come from the GBPUSD and if it can actually muster some upside going unnoticed by the EURUSD having a picnic at the local plaza.  However, the manner in which the EURGBP sells off (if it does) would be the best clues.  A violent sell off or any brutality shown towards the current medium/long term bulls today or tomorrow could be an indication the first defenses may not hold, thus requiring the 20ema or Kijun to come into play.  A close below all three of the lines would suggest the party is over for now and to wait till the 8830 level before re-building longs.  Either way, the test for the current bulls should be made clear in the next two days but medium to long term, we favor being long EUR over GBP for an eventual test of 9500.  The only thing which would negate this view for us would be weekly close below the 8700-8650 support zone.  One alternate scenario which would negate the bullish view would be a daily close below the Kumo.  Until then,  we feel any playful dips are really the bulls working on a fresh coat of paint for the coming winter and anyone putting on heavy shorts would be suspect of gargling with hydrochloric acid.

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments (http://whiteknightfxi.com/). He specializes in the technical aspects of trading particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications. For more information about his services or his company, visit http://2ndskiesforex.com

95pence for the EURGBP?

Filed Under (Education) by chris on 25-09-2009

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The EURGBP bulls have attacked with a force similar to Alexander the Great or Genghis Khan and his famous Mongol Horse charges one is wondering if prisoners are being taken or simply scorched in the process.  Granted, the prospects for a stronger EUR against the GBP seems likely for a while, but technically the pair has just crossed a Rubicon of a barrier in .9075 one has to wonder what the next target is?

Consider this, the pair has climbed roughly 730pips in < 2mos.  This aberrant behavior has annihilated almost any form of resistance along the way with dips having a yogurt-like shelf life experiencing nothing more than 3 down days in a row and nothing more than an 80 pip dip.  This communicates buyers are coming in fast and looking for any cheaper price to get into this impressive move.

Taking a look at the chart below, we can see how once the pair cleared the gravity of the Ichimoku Cloud on the daily chart, its has not one single breach below the 20ema and used it as a Apollo like launching pad to mount its next upside attack.  Furthermore, the pair only had a brief pit-stop at the 38.2% fib of the 9500-8400downmove and didn’t even bother to stop and take pictures at the 50% fib.  The 61.8% appeared interesting from a brief sight-seeing perspective but proved nothing more than a small tourist stop on the way.

Eventual destination?  We suspect there really is nothing left for the pair to mount a significant challenge except the full retracement of the move back at 9500.  Its tidy, neat and makes sense (something the markets do not do often) but with the overall EUR prospects faring better than the GBP, along with its merciless price-action ascent and Carl Lewis long jumping performance past resistance levels, we suspect the 95pence level will be under attack within the next week or two and we will continue to add on positions as long as 8830 (former major top) holds.

Chris Capre is the current Fund Manager for White Knight Investments. He specializes in the technical aspects of trading, particularly using Ichimoku, Momentum, Bollinger Band, Pivot and Price Action models to trade the markets. He is considered to be at the cutting edge of Technical Analysis and is well regarded for his Ichimoku Analysis, along with building trading systems and Risk Reduction in trading applications.