07:30am   I am around the house for most of the day so any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

The overnight Asian market has shrugged off good news from China’s PMI results and instead focused on the drop in Crude Oil values, so most indices closed down even though the Chinese Manufacturing PMI came in above 50 against an expected reading of 49.9 – retail sales in Australia did not fare as well though, they came in flat for August.

The U.S. session closed negatively last night as the fall in oil prices weighed on equities, Crude Oil Inventories showed a larger than expected build in stockpiles even though August is seen by many traders as a high demand month – U.S. WTI Crude fell 3.6% during Wednesday’s session (-$1.65) to close at $44.70 although there has been a small recovery this morning and is currently trading at $44.90.

Europe is bucking the trend at the moment and is showing a slightly higher open as a reaction to the Chinese PMI numbers although the session will be fairly subdued ahead of tomorrow’s Non Farm Payrolls announcement – expect the same when the U.S. opens for trading in 6hrs time. Although equity markets are not really advancing at a great rate, there’s been no buying of Gold instead, it has fallen fairly consistently now for 10 trading sessions and had a small bounce yesterday close to the $1300 level – watch this for possible support in the next few days.

Trading Diary:

11:25am   Been a fairly quiet morning on my collection of preferred charts but I have just entered a ‘short’ position on my Gold chart – it’s a trendFX strategy-1 set-up and my stop loss is 13 pips.

12:10pm   Just been stopped out of my Gold trade at -13 pips.

12:25pm   Now in a ‘short’ Brent Crude trade, another trendFX strategy-1 set-up with a 16 pip stop loss.

13:10pm   Going to have another try at a Gold trade, my trendFX strategy has just given me another ‘short’ trade opportunity – again a strategy-1 pattern but this time with a 19 pip stop loss.

14:00pm   The Gold price has come down nicely but is now rapidly rising once again so I have come out at +19 pips to preserve a 1:1 minimum profit ratio.  Brent trade doing ok at the moment at +26 pips.

14:25pm   Just been invited out for a game of golf with a bunch of traders and other self-employed people who can do this type of thing in the middle of the day so I have closed off my last remaining position –  the Brent Crude trade has managed +61 pips so with two winners and one loss I have come out at +67 pips for the day. No trading tomorrow as it’s Non Farm Payrolls day once again – so my total for this week is +90 pips as I’ve only had two days of trading.

I will be back trading on Tuesday as I am in London all day Monday.

08:35pm  Back home after a short holiday but not sure how much chart watching I will manage today as I have other errands/shopping etc. but any trades I do have will be detailed below.

Market Update:

Last week the markets held back while waiting for Janet Yellen’s much anticipated speech on Friday and this week we have the U.S. job’s report in two days time and again markets are showing no real signs of direction – this is exacerbated  by the holiday season although traders will slowly start returning to their trading floors next week.

U.S. markets ended mainly down last night and the overnight Asian trading session did not fair much better although the Nikkei 225 index did stand out after a positive 162 point finish. European indices started this morning’s session slightly down after the U.S. performance yesterday but is slowly turning positive and German banks are helping the Dax-30 index at the moment as a merger rumours between Commerzbank and Deutsche Bank abound.

Wednesday is crude oil stock announcement day in the U.S. so WTI Crude and Brent are trading down at the moment on expectations of a rise in inventories. U.S. WTI Crude is heading back towards the $46.00 level and the daily chart is close to its 20MA/50MA and quite oversold, so will we see a small bullish reversal today or tomorrow ?

Trading Diary:

10:55am    Just back from a quick cycle ride and there could be a trendFX strategy-1 trade trigger on the Brent Crude Oil chart, more news soon.

11:05am   The Brent Crude price has fallen sufficiently to trigger a ‘short’ trendFX  position. My stop loss is 13 pips and this is potentially going to be quite a quick trade as the Crude Oil Inventories numbers are out later this afternoon, I’ll watch it carefully while I am catching up on emails and compiling the latest triangle and trend line trade alert sheets.

13:25pm   Been watching my Brent chart every 30 minutes or so and observed the price stay under the 20MA and fall in quite an orderly fashion but I am now out of the position with a +29 pip profit for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the U.S. trading session is about to open and that nicely coincides with some lunch out with fellow traders.  Also, the Crude Oil Inventories announcement is also coming up so better to be out of position while I’m away from my screens.

I am in and out of the house for most of the afternoon so that’s it for trading today – back here tomorrow.

07:45am   Last day of trading for me until next Wednesday, I’m away early tomorrow morning for a short break abroad. Any trades I have today will be reported below.

Market Update:

U.S. markets closed down last night on low volumes and lack of enthusiasm to get in to any new positions ahead of a key note speech by Fed Chief Janet Yellen tomorrow at the 3-day Jackson Hole Symposium which starts today. The Economic Symposium in Wyoming USA is a meeting of finance ministers, central bankers,  various academics, and traders/investors from around the globe and although all meetings are closed to the press there are briefings throughout the day and markets are expected to react to any changes in economic and government policies  announced there.

Overnight, the lack of buying in the U.S. during Wednesday affected the Asian market and indices largely ended down except for the Hang Seng which was slightly up a few minutes ago. The European session this morning is mainly down as well as traders adjust their positions ahead of tomorrow’s speech by Janet Yellen. Surprisingly, gold is not benefiting from the uncertainty in equity markets, it fell $13.91 during yesterday’s session and is now sitting on its 50-day moving average although we could see a small move up today /tomorrow as the chart has been oversold for three consecutive days.

Trading Diary:

09:10am    Nothing to see on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a cycle ride towards Halesworth for an hour or so.

13:00pm  There has not been any opportunities in the past few hours since I’ve been back home but if the price on my Gold 15min chart falls below $1322.90 it will trigger a trendFX strategy-3 trade.

13:10pm  The Gold price has now moved down quite quickly and the trade has been triggered. My stop loss is 25 pips.

13:35pm  As the U.S. trading session is starting up the Gold price has become more volatile so I am now out of my position, it has ended at +44 pips. That’s it for my chart watching for today and the week, I will be back here in front of my screens on Wednesday 31st.

07:50am   Another sunny day so I shall again be dividing my time between the garden and some chart watching – any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

U.S. markets closed mainly flat yesterday as traders wait for Friday’s speech by Fed chief Janet Yellen and the overnight Asian market acted broadly the same for similiar reasons. The expectation for a U.S. interest rate rise in September is receding now but comments from Janet Yellen will be analysed carefully for any hints as to where the Federal Open Market Committee members are sitting with regard to this important market move. With not much economic news out today again (apart from the weekly Crude Oil Inventories) the expectation is another unexciting trading equity session.

As mentioned above, today is the weekly U.S. Crude Oil Inventories announcement and an expected rise in stocks has weighed on WTI Crude prices this morning where it has fallen 30 cents in the past few hours. Also in traders focus is the increase in production from Iran and a potentially disappointing OPEC meeting to decide on restraint in output.

Trading Diary:

09:05am    Not much happening on my collection of favourite charts so I am off for a cycle ride in the sunshine.

11:45am  Been back a short while and just looked at my charts and there’s not any opportunities for me at the moment so I am off for an early lunch at the The Lord Nelson.

15:25pm   Just got into a ‘short’ trendFX position on my S&P-500 15min chart, it’s a strategy-3 set-up and my stop loss is 27 pips.  The market is currently quite volatile so I do not see the trade lasting very long at the moment.

 16:00pm  Out of my trade for two reasons, firstly the price was getting increasingly volatile and may have reversed on me but more importantly it’s far too sunny outside to be here in the study.  By the way, I came out at 1:1 profit (+27 pips) 

07:40am   Another lovely sunny day at home for me and my time will be shared between my charts and the garden, not sure about the split yet.

Market Update:

The U.S. markets traded in a fairly narrow channel yesterday as traders wait to hear what Fed Chief Janet Yellen has to say about interest rates on Friday and the overnight Asian market reflected this sentiment in a small way as indices ended mixed. The Nikkei 225 was the largest loser at -0.61% (-100 points) with the stronger Japanese Yen still negatively affecting margins for exporters.

The oil market is still fairly volatile with conflicting news being the main driver. Iran has confirmed increased production which is having a negative effect on prices although the upcoming OPEC announcement of production restraint by members has been the bullish driver in the market over the last week or so.  General sentiment from oil traders I have spoken to in London seems to be that Saudi Arabia will be reluctant to lose market share and both Russia and Iran need to increase production and exports to bolster their economies so really the prospects for much of a price rise in crude oil does not look good.

Gold is starting to trade in an every decreasing channel on the daily timeframe as commodity traders wait to see what happens with equities, subscribers to my Triangle Trade Alert service will be receiving an interesting chart on the subject later this morning.

Trading Diary:

09:25am   I have just entered a ‘short’ position on my Brent Crude Oil chart, it’s a trendFX strategy-1 set-up with a 28 pip stop loss.

11:00am    Friends have arrived for a cycle ride along the beach path so I have moved my stop loss up to break even but as usual I’ve left the target open and I will see how the trade’s doing when I get back in an hour or so.

12:40pm    Back home and I can see my Brent position has been stopped out at break even (zero).

13:55pm   Just got into my 2nd trade of the day, it’s a ‘long’ position on the S&P-500 30 minute chart and my stop loss is 17 pips.  The set-up I am using is another strategy-1 pattern from the trendFX system manual.

15:25pm  The price rise on the S&P-500 since the start of today’s U.S. trading session is growing weaker so I have just come out of my position with a +44 pip profit.  That’s it for chart watching today, back tomorrow.

08:15am   Quiet day planned at home so I shall be doing some chart watching from time to time and any trades I have will be reported below.

Market Update:

Last week’s trading in Europe ended negatively on the whole although U.S. equities closed on Friday where they began on Monday and we are still in the holiday period where trading volumes are lower than usual as traders are away from their desks for another week.

At the start of this new trading week, the overnight Asian market was bearish with only the Japanese Nikkei 225 showing any promise even though the Yen has strengthened once again – it closed up 52 points (+0.32%) and Europe has opened down on the back of the overall sentiment last night.  Focus for the markets this week is going to be a 2-day meeting at Jackson Hole in Wyoming of the Economic Symposium which is a get together of global central bankers where Federal reserve Chief Janet Yellen will be speaking on Friday. Traders will be listening carefully for any clues during her speech for a September interest rate hike.

Although global equity markets are not showing much enthusiasm for bullish moves up, Gold is not benefiting from this lack of buying at the moment and ended Friday’s trading session almost $11 down on the day and is also down nearly $6 this morning so far.

Trading Diary:

09:25am  I am not  great fan of trading first thing on a Monday morning while the markets are sorting themselves out after the weekend break but I can see a possible trendFX ‘short’ trade on my U.S. WTI Crude Oil chart so I will keep an eye on the chart – not much else happening on my other favourites.

09:45am   The WTI price has dropped sufficiently to trigger a ‘short’ trade so I am now in a position with a 20 pip stop loss. It’s a trendFX strategy-1 set-up.

10:05am   Some fellow traders have arrived for a cycle ride so I am away from my charts for an hour or so – I have left my stop loss at 20 pips but I’ve not set a profit target yet, I will just see where the price ends up when I get back.  If you were a new trader who had just started trading this system I would suggest setting the profit target at +20 pips for safety.

11:50am  I got back here a short while ago and my WTI position was at +58 pips so I’ve now closed it off as I am more than happy with that result – that’s it for my chart watching today, back here in the morning

08:35am  Apologies for no Market Update yesterday, we had a minor emergency here early morning so no trading either for me. As it’s Friday I do not expect to be doing much trading either although I shall be compiling a Trend-Line TRADE-ALERT sheet for subscribers in the next hour so if I do see any trades while doing that I will report them below.

Market Update:

The overnight Asian trading session ended mainly positively with the Nikkei 225 index coming in ahead even though the Japanese Yen’s strength will hurt exporter. Last night’s U.S. session closed very slightly up, the main S&P index of leading 500 shares finished up 4.80 points ahead mainly on encouraging news for the oil price. There is hope that a forthcoming OPEC meeting will cement an agreement to contain production levels so boosting the price as high global stocks are now unsustainable. U.S. WTI Crude is getting closed to the important $50 level now, it rose $1.44 during Thursday’s session to close at $48.32 and is already trading higher at $48.66 this morning.

European markets have opened lower on the last day of the trading week with the German DAX-30 trading at 10,506 currently compared with the close yesterday afternoon of 10,600. The London FTSE-100 is down by a similiar amount together with French, Spanish and Italian indices.

Gold is being held back in recent days by a bearish trend line on the daily chart which subscribers of my Trend-Line TRADE-ALERT service will have seen but we could see a price breakout to the upside if equity traders lose confidence towards the end of August – an interesting chart to watch.

10:25am   Slightly later than usual Market Update as I had an early game of golf this morning but the rest of the day will be spent mainly here at home catching up on emails and chart watching so any trades I do have will be reported here through the day.

Market Update:

Tuesday’s U.S. trading session ended in the red as falling oil prices weighed on sentiment and concerns over today’s Federal Reserve meeting minutes which will give traders a sign of what’s to come in the net few month with interest rates. The holiday season is well underway as well so trading volumes are low and traders took advantage of rising equity prices to book some profits.

On the back of this lacklustre performance, the overnight Asian trading session ended mixed although this morning’s European indices are well off the week’s high ahead of tonight’s Fed Rate Meeting minutes. Oil values have been bullish of late although there is some profit taking in the past few hours and the main driver for this surge in price is the growing realisation that the experiment that Saudi Arabia began against cheap U.S. shale producers has largely failed and they now want to return to a more ordered market where OPEC countries no longer flood the market in the hope of destroying the U.S. producers. There is hope that next month’s OPEC meeting with non-OPEC members will produce an agreement to restrict output to boost prices back over the $50 level.

Gold endured a fairly volatile session yesterday and is still moving along in a narrowing price channel so we would be expecting it to break out out either up or down quite soon – subscribers of my Triangle Trading TRADE-ALERT service will be kept abreast of developments. (email me for a chart screenshot)

Trading Diary:

11:25am  Just got into a ‘short‘ trendFX position on my FTSE-100 15min chart, it’s a  strategy-1 set-up and I have an 11 pip stop loss.

14:10pm   Back from lunch and my FTSE trade is still alive and well at +17 pips so I shall leave it running for a while longer to see if the price can go further south.

15:45pm   It looks as thought the FTSE-100 price has bottomed out and is now going up so I have come out of my position at +30 pips.  No more chart watching for me today, back here in the morning.

08:30am  Back in the UK early this morning after my short holiday I have a few family-related things to do today so no trading for me until tomorrow. If you are watching your charts today I wish you a successful day on the markets.

Market Update:

While I’ve been away equity markets have surged ahead with the main U.S. S&P-500 index reaching another new record high at 2193.70 on the back of rising oil prices even though we are now in the summer holiday period when most traders are away from their screens and volumes are low. The overnight Asian trading session did not carry on this optimistic sentiment though with all major indices closing negatively as the Japanese Yen surged higher and this morning’s European open is largely down as well currently.

Over the past week Gold has been trading in an ever decreasing channel which I will highlight to subscribers in my Trade-Alert email later this morning (Contact me for a chart if you’re not a subscriber) and is now well off the high of $1375 reached at the beginning of July, although this morning the daily chart is looking quite bullish.

The rising oil price is helping equities markets and since the bullish price reversal at the beginning of August when the U.S. WTI Crude was at $39.20 it has risen slowly to $45.70 at the moment and is now heading towards its next resistance area at $46.75.

07:45am   This will be the last ‘Market Update’ from me for a short while, I am off on holiday tomorrow for 10 days so I will be back here on Tuesday 16th August.  I am not trading today either as it’s the monthly Non Farm Payrolls this afternoon so if you are watching your charts, do tread carefully but have a good day on the markets.

Market Update:

Equity markets around the world have traded mostly flat following the Bank Of England’s interest rate cut yesterday with the overnight Asian markets ending mixed, the Hang Seng Index was a notable winner though (+288 points) with other indices either slightly up or marginally down . Last night’s U.S. trading session close saw the S&P-500 and Dow Jones 30 end almost flat but this morning’s European session looks quite positive ahead of the U.S. jobs report that is due out at 14:30pm European time.

As well as cutitng the base lending rate to 0.25%, the Bank Of England also announced a stimulus package to include an increased bond purchasing programme and a new funding scheme for banks to ease money flow to companies. These measures acted positively on the FTSE-100 index yesterday, helping it to end the day  at 6740 up 105 points and this morning it is up slightly further at 6781 currently. The Gold price has struggled to advance this week after a good run up, it has failed to get through the $1367 level a few times in the past 4 days but there could be a reaction after this afternoon’s U.S. Non Farm Payrolls.