MP and Currencies

[momentom 10]

Anyone successfully using MP with currencies?

 

How do you organize your profiles? 24 hour or just the time zone you trade. Currency day is really three days so how do you look at it? What is the real VA and POC?

[notouch 10]

I use European hours only. The overwhelming majority of currency trading takes place in London so when looking at value it makes sense to look at it from the perspective of London traders.

[torero 10]

I've been reading up on Dalton's book and I myself had the same question. It seems a logical choice to use London session as a starting point. But we can't ignore the other volume areas that may play a crucial role. In simple S/R, Tokyo and NY highs and lows play an important part of the price action movements so I think it's tricky using MP with currencies. I think Dalton used bonds are the main instrument as an example but he did use currencies and used the entire session (24-hr format). I'm testing out a few ideas right now so we'll see how it goes.

 

Notouch, you see any edge in using MP for London session only?

[notouch 10]

Yes because the London value area often comes into play in the following London session. For example if price gaps higher it may test the previous day's VAH. I tried it on a 24 hour time frame and found it quite useless because price during the Asian session in particular just trades in a narrow range with very little volume giving the impression that value is being created in that price area but in reality it's just because so few trades are taking place. Even where there is a trend in the Asian session causing a gap this gap will usually be partially or totally filled.

[nickm001 10]

just wondering if you have tried using VOLUME based MP... TPOs dont work because it gives the same weight to low volume session ( like asian) based on time@price as it does to EU or US session.

Note: I am not trading currencies, but was helping another trader doing research/testing

[notouch 10]

The problem is there is no volume in forex apart from the futures which is mostly traded in the US session.

[nickm001 10]

my bad... thought you guys are talking futures..

[torero 10]

I think you can use tick chart as a substitute for volume for forex no?

[notouch 10]

I've never seen that incorporated into MP and tick data is not a very reliable indicator of volume.

[nickm001 10]

torero, as far as I know, there is not central clearing house for forex, no common quote system. One is trading via broker, which provides, sw, quotes and liquidity for traders that participate with them. Setup is similar with "bucket shops" from the days of old ( Jesse Livermore). The only volume you could possibly see is the local shop volume. The system is setup as inter-banking system, and forex traders are small, very small fraction of the volume.

[notouch 10]

If you trade with a no dealing desk broker like EFX, IB or even (shudder) FXCM then your trades are executed on the interbank market.

[torero 10]

Hi Nick, I trade forex so I'm aware of the fact there is no volume. The tick is the best substitute, PP himself uses this to best gauge the volume as close as possible. I think it's the really the only chance of getting something out of forex. However, I'm trying incorporate tick charts into my trading but so far, the best is the time charts (15-,60-,240-min and higher charts). I can only assume Anna-Marie and her colleagues don't use volume to trade, am I correct?

[btrader2 10]

I would like to apply MP to currency futures (EUR, GBP) which I'm starting to study. I see discussion started on whether the 24hr or a specific time zone is the preferred profile setup. I chose to start with the 24hr format but segment the profile to reflect my time zone (PDT start of RTH with capital 'A' period). Asian and London has already completed and are lower case. This setup "isolates" my time frame part of the profile. This is just a start of my observation but it appears 24hr POCs get respect. Has anyone else continued to study MP and currencies?

[Reaver 10]

You could look into Ensign, as they have price histogram....

 

They use price over time instead of volume, which is still a very good indication of AMT.

 

Works for forex too....as it doesn't rely on volume.

[btrader2 10]

Thanks Reaver for your input. I'm using an MP EasyLanguage "plug-in" to my MultiCharts software. Early on in this thread there was discussion on what was best to use as a base timeframe. I think it drilled down to London or 24Hr. I think MP with Currencies (Forex or Futures) is an interesting discussion which could be expanded.

[Reaver 10]

Thanks Reaver for your input. I'm using an MP EasyLanguage "plug-in" to my MultiCharts software. Early on in this thread there was discussion on what was best to use as a base timeframe. I think it drilled down to London or 24Hr. I think MP with Currencies (Forex or Futures) is an interesting discussion which could be expanded.

 

No problem. Good luck.

[bronxterp 10]

I love using MP for futures and I'm interested in incorporating it into Forex trading. I think I will use the London open to US equity market close for my profile...2am EST to 4pm EST. Its a rare occasion that the Asian market time frame offers anything significant.

 

I use MetaTrader4 for my Forex charting and there are a few MP indicators out there, but none of them are desirable since they don't have Value Area or IB data, so I've been charting it manually for the time being on Excel which is a chore to say the least.

[btrader2 10]

My software squawks about being more than 24 hrs when I try to set London open through US close. I also have a spreadsheet so I may set it up there for comparison. Since I only look at the Euro and Pound futures, London close (as mentioned early on in the thread) might be a setup too because of the London/Euro/US overlap. BTW, there was a nice pullback trade off the 24Hr VAH in the EUR today.

[bronxterp 10]

btrader2, do you calculate the VAH and VAL using 24 hour info or your customized period? I know there is a site out there that calculates VAL, POC and VAH when you plug in the data, but I'd prefer to have Excel do that for me, especially since I watch 10 currencies and don't feel like plugging in numbers for the rest of my life! The problem is that I can't figure out the calculations on Excel...not even sure its possible...but if it is, can someone here let me know how?

[btrader2 10]

Hi bronxterp,

 

For currency futures I have my symbols set to GLOBEX for FX futures which is 17:00 to 16:00 Central. The calculations for VAH, VAL, and POC is done by the MP software I have for the MultiCharts charting package I use. You may want to look at a charting package that has MP included since you are looking at 10 currencies daily for MP analysis.

[btrader2 10]

bronxterp, I should have included that my main software for MP is Multicharts and Excel is mainly for testing and backup.

[ryker 10]

btrader2, do you calculate the VAH and VAL using 24 hour info or your customized period? I know there is a site out there that calculates VAL, POC and VAH when you plug in the data, but I'd prefer to have Excel do that for me, especially since I watch 10 currencies and don't feel like plugging in numbers for the rest of my life! The problem is that I can't figure out the calculations on Excel...not even sure its possible...but if it is, can someone here let me know how?

 

Hi bronxterp,

I suggest you'll have a look there:

http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/6/mp-on-excel-1306-8.html

the spreadhseet might be useful to you.