ny journey is normally predetermined with some planning (what time is my bus, flight, train?, what time should I leave home, hotel?, where will I get fuel, accommodation, meals etc).
All sensible trading should have similar plans, and back up plans.
Lately I have noticed considerable ES activity outside US trading hours. This must scare some traders when they are spilling their morning coffee, and they see their long/short is 150 pts against them and their market hasn't even opened!
So today I thought I would share my plans for my oil journey.
Of particular note are three visible patterns: The ascending (flat topped) triangle at $66 (Resistance), the rising chanel, which we have been trading of late, and the Support line at $63.
Ascending triangles are considered consolidation patterns. They normally like three or more hits (about 2/3 length) before penetration, BUT it is NOT a triangle until after it has broken out.
In our case our lower channel boundary is the upward sloping radian, and the intersection occurs late May.
So we will buy on:
Pullback to our support line at $63; and/or
the lower upward sloping radian (between $62 and $63 until Apr 20).
Beware this date - it is Contract Expiry (CL1! ... rem this chart is CL2!) so expect churn during the preceeding week.
Our Stop is the swing Low of Apr 6 - a few pts below (say) $61.70
Post Apr 20 our Stop will sit a few pts below our $63 support or any higher swing lows that occur subsequently.
Our initial target is overhead Resistance at $66
Our Risk Reward becomes (66-63):(63-61.70) or 3 : 1.30
Watch for a coil to reverse a low on an incomplete retrace towards the lower channel line.
Upside breech and close above this Resistance then puts the triangle in play. Normall breech is followed by a pullback retest of the break out price.
So we would buy $66
Stop will be any swing low close below this breakout price
Target becomes the Resistance - radian low + Resistance (66-58)+66 or $74 but lets gets the break out first then we will concentrate on the next leg of our journey.