Long USDJPY

12.43 gmt

I have just entered an order to go long UJ at 102.92, about 2 pips below the current price. I am sure it will get hit soon; as of this writing my platform is showing a price of 102.94. I’ve kept the size really small, just to have some skin in the market at the FOMC event tomorrow.

Long $3/pip USDJPY at 102.92.

Edit 13.30 gmt:

The price moved away and hasn’t looked back. It is now hovering near 103.01. I am keeping my order as it is.

Edit 13.36 gmt:

Order got executed. Long UJ $3/pip at 102.92. SL at 102.52.

Future direction of this blog

The market is dead calm – the calm before a huge storm!

But things are definitely bubbling beneath the surface of this blog. A couple of weeks ago I posted that the blog would be going private. I haven’t done that yet. At this stage my ideas are still evolving, hence I am leaving things as they are for a few weeks.

My first passion is trading; I really want to see if it’s possible to reach the holy grail of high, consistent profits, month after month in the markets. I imagine that it is relatively easy to make 5-6% per month consistently. But I am aiming higher. Based on my experience and observations, forex markets should allow a return of 10-20% per month  consistently. I want to try to achieve this and see if I can overcome the obstacles along the way.

Along with trading, I am infected with the urge to teach, to share my knowledge. So I am considering some sort of educational / skill building offering, that will be consistent with my trading activity. Not online videos or online seminars. I don’t believe they are an effective learning medium. Something personal, face-to-face. The other benefit of the personal education is that I will have a chance to meet with like-minded traders, some with a passion for the markets like me. These ideas are swirling around my head and will come to fruition in the new year. I am trying to work out how to fit my blog within the new plans.

If any of my regular readers have any ideas or suggestions feel free to post them in the comments or by email to me.

Closed short trades; new short EURUSD @ 1.3782

13.12 gmt

The shorts I entered last Friday afternoon were briefly in profit earlier today, but it was a mixed deal when I closed them a few minutes ago.

USDJPY: closed short at 102.93, +22 pips

GBPJPY: closed short at 168.12, -24 pips

EURJPY: closed short at 141.87, -27 pips.

At the same time, EURUSD has presented an excellent short opportunity again near 1.38. I have entered a new short as follows:

Short $8/pip EURUSD at 1.3782, SL at 1.3817.

Closed all trades; reversed yen trades

15.02 gmt

I missed the boat on closing out earlier. I was out in a meeting at the time of London open when most pairs reversed. [Note to self: do not schedule any activity around London open!] I was hoping for a bounce in early NY which did not materialise. My profits in GY & EY have turned to losses, and my 100+ pips in UJ was reduced to around 50 pips. I’ve also closed the AUD short at a good profit, I think it has fallen plenty for one week. We may get another opportunity to go short next week.

USDJPY: closed long at 103.15, +50 pips.

EURJPY: closed long at 141.60, -22 pips

GBPJPY: closed all longs at 167.88, for -180 pips (2/pip) & -67 pips (5/pip)

AUDUSD: closed short at 0.8930, +123 pips.

Now short as follows:

Short USDJPY $8/pip at 103.15, SL 103.80

Short EURJPY $8/pip at 141.60, SL 142.30

Short GBPJPY $5/pip at 167.88, SL 168.80

Long GBPJPY @ 168.55

13.12 gmt

I am still long a tiny order ($2/pip) this pair from 169.68; I expect this pair to eventually go past 170 and the small position size lets me easily withstand the swings of this pair.

Now my system has generated a long signal here, and I am adding longs here.

Long $5/pip GBPUSD @ 168.55, SL at 167.95. This increases my risk a bit, but it is still manageable.

Closed EURUSD short; added new long EURJPY

8.10 gmt

The Euro is still got a lot of buying pressure, keeps looking upward. I have therefore closed the EU short at 1.3795, -9 pips.

Meanwhile, EJ has given a buy signal and I am long EJ as follows:

Long $7/pip EURJPY at 141.82. Extreme SL at 141.15, but I would look at the action if it touches 141.40.

Closed & reversed USDJPY short;

1.38 gmt

Market is reversing. I have closed my USDJPY short and gone long here.

Closed UJ short at 102.65, +11 pips.

New long $8/pip USDJPY at 102.65. SL 102.15

Sold AUD – again.

00.50 gmt

The headline unemployment rate inched up to 5.8 even though jobs increased by 21k. This is a mixed number, and anyway, the recent Australian labour stats have been all over the place! The more interesting observation is what price has done since the announcement.  Spike up to 0.9080, where there has been heavy selling. This looks like a prelude to a huge drop. I am getting in again on the short side.

Short $6/pip AUDUSD at 0.9053. SL 0.9105.

Short EURUSD again, at 1.3786

11 Dec, 11.51 gmt

This is a tentative signal, but still worth taking as the risk is low, and if correct it is a great entry level for a short.

Short $8/pip EURUSD @ 1.3786. SL at 1.3809.

EURUSD: stopped out; EURJPY: closed short

14.25 gmt

EURUSD has got a strong bid, obviously somebody is playing with the options, barriers and stops above 1.38. It passed my mental stop and I’ve closed the short trade as follows:

Closed EURUSD short at 1.3793, -40 pips.

At the same time, EJ has got a turbo bid with both EU and UJ combining their move. I’ve closed the short for a small profit.

Closed short EURJPY at 141.59, for a profit of +13 pips.

I’ll monitor this until after the 10am NY options cut and then decide which side to trade this.