Currency markets fluctuate daily and one of the best ways to evaluate the future direction is using technical analysis. This form of analysis uses chart patterns to analyze past price action, to formulate a view of the future direction of a currency pair. Many traders use support and resistance levels, which form the basis of chart patterns.

Support and Resistance:

Recall, support is a level where demand is evident and buyers are willing to step in and buy a security. Resistance is a level of supply where investors focus on selling or shorting an asset. Support and resistance levels are constantly changing as new information becomes available. You can use many different techniques to find support and resistance levels. One of the most common and efficient is trend line analysis. A trend line connects two or more points with a line in an effort to pin point support or resistance. Generally traders use downward sloping trend lines to designate resistance levels and upward sloping trend line to define levels of support. Although this technique is subjective, many analysts believe it is the most efficient way to generate a trend line that reflects either support or resistance levels.

Since trend lines can be subjectively drawn, it is helpful to find a technique that you can fall back on that takes the subjectivity out of this process. One of the most efficient methodology is Tom DeMarks trend line process.

TD Trend Lines:

DeMark created his TD (Tom DeMark) trend lines for the professional trader to eliminate the subjectivity from the process of drawing trend line. To do this he created the pivot top and pivot bottom. The TD pivot top is a high that is surrounded by at least one lower high on each side. For a more robust pivot top, you would look for a high surrounded by either 2 or even three lower highs on each side of the pivot top high.

Once you have found your first pivot top, you can then look back at the price history of an asset to find the next high that is surrounded by at least one lower highs on each side of it. If you are looking for pivot tops of 1-lower high than the next pivot should be the same. The pivot high you are looking for when you draw a resistance line should be higher as you move back in history.

The next step is drawing a trend line. You would connect one pivot top high to the next pivot top high and extend the line forward. The trend line has a slope and that becomes your resistance line. When an asset breaks through that resistance line, it is likely to continue to move higher. Generally the best way to trade this type of resistance trend line is to wait for a close above the slope of the trend line which will trigger a breakout.

When drawing a TD support line, you are constructing and upward sloping trend line that generates support. To do this you would connect a pivot low, which has one or more higher lows on each side of it to the next pivot low. The upward sloping trend line that is created forms support. When the price of an asset closes below the TD support line, a break down has occurred. Like the TD resistance line the TD support line can be drawn on every time horizon.

It is important to find charting patterns that you are comfortable using, as this can assist you in determining the future direction of a currency pair.

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