Forex Trading - Useful Indicators to Improve Your Results

Friday, January 28, 2011




One of my favorite indicators to trade the forex markets is the Signal Bars. It tells you at a glance the trends in multiple timeframes according to various technical indicators. Let me say right from the get go that I did not invent this, but I have put it to good use. The features and benefits, and how to best use them, are what I want to share in this article.





The Signal Bars indicator resides in a corner of your MT4 screen. I prefer the upper right because I have the chart shift moved to about one-third the way from the right towards the left, so the upper right corner remains uncluttered. The Signal Bars indicator consists of three horizontal rows of colored bars, green for up, red for down, orange for no clear direction - and these colors can be customized. The rows are divided into timeframes: M1, M5, M15, M30, H1, H4 and D1 - and these can likewise be customized. Each of the three rows represents a different technical indicator. The top row is the MACD with settings of 8/17/9. Middle row is an Exponential Moving Average (EMA) with a cross of the MA5 and MA9. Finally the bottom row is labeled STR and consists of Relative Strength Index (RSI) with a setting of 9, the Commodity Channel Index (CCI) with a setting of 13 and Stochastics set at 5/3/3 and all three of these indicators need to be in agreement before a signal is generated.





What I particularly find valuable is that without having to look at the lower timeframes, you can tell when the M1 and M5 are beginning to move in another direction. If you're trending down and that is about to reverse, you'll see a dull green first, then as the trend becomes stronger it turns to a bright green. Yes, there are shades of red and green to show the strength of the move. Very useful.





The Signal Bars can be configured to show different kinds of data. These three rows of bars are the essence of the indicator. You can also display a large-font current price of the pair -again in green or red depending whether the move is up or down- which is very handy. It can also display the current spread on the pair and how many pips it's moved up or down since the open.





Further, it can show the overall daily range and the average daily range. To see how these different configurations look, visit my blog where I show a few examples. Of all the indicators available, this Signals Bar is one of the most useful and handy available. A search of popular forex forums will likely turn up the most current version of this valuable tool.


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