/ Choosing a Forex strategy

Before you start choosing a specific strategy, you should determine what type of trader you belong to, as well as:

• How much time you can devote to trading;
• What currency pairs you want to focus on;
• The size of your position: long or short positions.

Trading strategies that you can use when trading Forex

The following strategies are used by traders to open positions and close them with a profit. The choice of strategy depends on what type of trader you belong to.

Forex scalping strategy

Traders who prefer short-term trades lasting only a few minutes or those who try to catch multiple price movements prefer scalping. Scalping focuses on accumulating small but frequent profits and limiting losses. These short-term trades involve price movements of only a few pips, but combined with high leverage, the trader still risks significant losses.

This strategy tends to suit those who can commit to periods of high volume trading, and who can stay focused on these quick trades. The most liquid currency pairs are often favored because they contain the tightest spreads, allowing traders to enter and exit positions quickly.

It is worth remembering that when using a scalping strategy, slippage can have a significant impact on trading, especially if risk management tools such as stop losses are not in place.

Day trading

If you want to trade for shorter periods of time but are not familiar with fast, multiple trades, an alternative strategy is day trading. It typically involves one trade per day, which, unlike swing trading, is not done overnight. Profit or loss arises from any intraday change in the price of the respective currency pair.

This type of trading requires sufficient time to monitor the trade, as well as a good interpretation of how the economy may affect the pair being traded. If important economic news is released that day, it may affect your position.

Swing trading

For traders who prefer a medium-term trading style where positions can be held for several days, there is swing trading, which aims to capitalize on price movements by identifying the "swing highs" or "swing lows" of a trend. Price movements must be carefully analyzed to determine where to enter or exit a trade. Economic stability or the political environment can also be analyzed as an indicator of the next likely price movement.

Swing, which is the fluctuation between one security and another, is used to trade a selected financial instrument. Some traders prefer to hold a security for a few days, while others prefer to base their swings on intra-month price movements.

Choosing a currency pair with a wider spread and lower liquidity may make more sense when utilizing a swing trading strategy. While this strategy usually involves less time committing to the market than day trading, it exposes you to the risk of overnight crashes or "gaps".

Position trading

The most patient traders may opt for position trading, which is less concerned with short-term market fluctuations and focuses on the long-term, holding a position for weeks, months, or even years. The goal of this strategy is for the investment to grow in value over this long-term time period.

The requirements for this type of Forex trading strategy are as follows:

• Large stop loss orders to avoid stopping the trade too early;
• Sufficient capital to avoid getting a margin call;
• Ability to stay level if price goes against you;
• A good understanding of market fundamentals.

Forex Hedging

To protect themselves against unwanted price movements in a currency pair, traders can hold a long and a short position at the same time. This compensates for the risk of a price decline, but limits profits. By holding both a long and short position, you get an idea of where the market is moving, potentially allowing you to close the position and reopen it at a more favorable price. You are effectively buying time to see where the market is moving, giving you the opportunity to improve your position.

The decision to use a hedging strategy depends on the amount of capital you have available, as you will need to hedge both positions, as well as the time you have available to observe the market. In addition, this strategy is usually best suited for traders who wish to hedge one of the most liquid major currency pairs. Hedging is useful for long-term traders who forecast that their currency pair will behave unfavorably and then reverse, as it can cut some short-term losses.