The week that was

Some thoughts on the trading week

We’re nearly at the end of the trading road this week. It’s nearly time to don the Ray-Bans, fuel up the speedboat, and head to Monaco for the weekend.

Meanwhile in the real world (for most of us I assume), I’ll be fighting monstrous spiders in my shed as I attempt to get the mower out to cut the grass. What a life we traders lead eh? But, that’s the reality for many of us. It’s not the high-flying globe-trotting lifestyle for many in this business, it’s hard work and dedication in trying to put food on the table and a roof over our heads. That’s what we should be focusing on when we trade, not the glossy promises from people trying to flog us the next “big” money making system. Hard work and learning pays in this game, not giving your money away to some shyster promising to cut corners.

If you’ve had a good week, well done, relax and have some fun and get refreshed for the new week and new opportunities. If you’ve had a bad week, keep your chin up, relax, have some fun and get refreshed for the new week and new opportunities 😉

For me it’s been a good week if not an unexpected one. I didn’t think for one moment that I would still be sitting in an EURUSD short from what was a scalp play on Monday. I’ve still got a sliver left (more of a token gesture) but the best part for me is not the profits but the way I managed it. I’m quite proud of myself because I’m usually too impatient and cautious to stay in trades like that too long. This has shown me it’s something I need to work on, and a lesson that there’s always something we should work on as traders. Of course, the market has helped as it’s been a virtual one way move with little retraction but still, it’s a little eye opener for me to look at how I trade and to see if I can do better. A lot of traders suffer from getting in trades too early and the same with getting out. That can lead to worse positions, lower profits and bigger losses. Traders should always be questioning their performance to see if they can identify where they can improve. This week is a small lightbulb moment for me.

The rest of the week has been kind to me and the guys in the trading room. It’s been a funny week with some nonsensical moves and moves that have been driven by non-G7 pairs. Scalping the EURCHF support at 1.18 was a bust, as was scalping longs at 1.18 in EURUSD. Must be something about that number 😉 USDJPY was another where fighting the trend didn’t work but running with the breaks did. I had some caution today about running with a 111.00 break and that proved a wise move. As I said earlier, the break just didn’t feel right and it’s times like that that I trust my experience and instincts.

I feel that for a lot of this week, the moves in the pound and the euro have been nothing to do with the fundamentals in either country. Barring the Brexit shenanigans this week, the only data point was the jobs report and that wasn’t too bad. It shows that global flows are dominating at the moment and that’s the pond we’re sailing in right now. Even USDJPY has been a bystander to most things this week.

As ever, markets will always give us more questions than answers usually so we can only trade what we see in front of us and use whatever strategies work at the time. Don’t fight your instincts, don’t get married to a trade and constantly question what can go wrong, not what can go right.

Now, bring on those spiders.