http://www.TheForexNittyGritty.com Online Currency Trading The Forex markets are volatile when world events are chaotic. Debt in Europe, threat of war in the Middle East, rising oil prices, and worldwide recession all shake the currency markets. However, online currency trading most often happens when prices fluctuate greatly. Traders use fundamental analysis of Forex pairs in order to understand the price range within which a pair might trade. Traders use technical analysis in order to understand changes in market sentiment and profitably predict the next direction in prices. With these thoughts in mind here are few more regarding online currency trading. Using a Candle to Light the Way to Forex Profits Candlestick patterns in Forex trading are a common route to online currency trading. Japanese candlesticks are an age old pictorial means of demonstrating price patterns. The system started in rice trading in ancient Japan and is used by traders today for stocks, options, commodities, futures, and currency trading. One or more candlesticks may be involved in a signal which predicts a new market direction. Candlesticks are a clear and easy means to accomplish technical analysis of Forex pairs. The candlestick symbol looks like a candlestick with wicks sticking out of the top and bottom. The length of the candle shows the difference between opening and closing prices and the wicks, called shadows, show the range of trading for the day. A white candle indicates an up day and a black candle tells the trader that the traded currency closed lower than its opening price. Picking a Good Currency Pair to Trade Online currency trading requires a volatile Forex pair. It also requires that fundamental and technical analysis of that pair result in useful information. Fundamentals of many minor currencies are not very transparent so many traders only trade major currency pairs. Likewise, technical analysis of major Forex currencies is more accurate than technical analysis of minor Forex currencies because major currencies trade in high volume and liquidity. Many traders subscribe to an alert service that follows all possible trading pairs and lets the trader know which ones are most promising. Learning the Skill Sets In many ways online currency trading is a performance art. A trader can have all of the knowledge in the world and still lose money. Online currency trading requires a firm grasp of how to work at a trade station and a clear understanding of technical analysis signals. When one is trading a major versus a minor Forex currency and prices start to behave erratically the skilled trader takes advantage of the situation and gains profits while the unskilled novice learns a trading lesson the hard way. Many Forex trading coaches insist that their students spend hours every day in simulation trading for every hour spent trading with real money. Many novice traders only start out trading when they are on line with their coach.