Cross Currency Pairs and Strategies Connected with ThemCross Currency Pairs and Strategies Connected with Them
Cross currency forex trading has emerged as an intriguing segment that presents unique opportunities and challenges. In this article, we discuss commonly traded pairs, liquidity challenges, and the factors influencing cross exchange rates. Additionally, we present three trading strategies to help traders navigate the dynamic scene of forex cross currency pairs.
Understanding Cross Currency Trading
Knowing the basic concept of cross currency trading and considering the most frequently traded pairs can open a new realm of opportunities for traders.
Excluding the US Dollar Offers Opportunities
Cross currency pairs, also known as "crosses," involve currencies that are not paired with the US dollar (USD). For instance, if the euro (EUR) is traded against the Japanese yen (JPY), it forms a cross currency pair. Cross currency pairs introduce diversification opportunities and allow traders to gain exposure to specific economies and their interconnections.
Cross Currency Examples
Traditionally, the best forex cross pairs to trade are those that involve currencies from major global economies other than the USA. Here are a few popular and widely traded forex cross pairs:
- EUR/JPY (Euro/Japanese Yen): Known for its liquidity and considerable volatility, this pair attracts traders looking for opportunities in the Eurozone and Japan.
- GBP/AUD (British Pound/Australian Dollar): This cross offers a mix of major currencies, providing exposure to two economically significant regions.
- EUR/AUD (Euro/Australian Dollar): Combining the euro and Australian dollar, this pair is favoured for its liquidity and potential trend movements.
- GBP/JPY (British Pound/Japanese Yen): Renowned for its volatility, this pair is favoured by traders seeking the potential for substantial price movements.
Cross Currency Pairs May Have Liquidity Issues
While cross currency pairs provide diversification opportunities, traders need to navigate potential liquidity challenges. Less popular crosses often exhibit wider spreads, diminishing their attractiveness due to the increased transaction costs. The lower liquidity in these pairs can result in slippage, where the execution price deviates from the expected price at the time of order placement. To mitigate these challenges, traders implement advanced order types, like limit orders, which can potentially further enhance precision in trade execution, and stop-loss orders, which can potentially help limit potential losses.
Key Factors Affecting Cross Currency Rates
When considering major cross currency pairs, traders focus on the specific conditions of the countries involved in the pair.
- Interest Rates: Variances in interest rates between the two countries can significantly impact cross currency rates. Traders often monitor central bank decisions to anticipate interest rate changes.
- Economic Indicators: Economic data, such as GDP growth, employment figures, and inflation rates, play a crucial role in influencing cross currency exchange rates.
- Political Stability: Political events and stability in each country can impact investor confidence, leading to fluctuations in cross currency rates.
Trading Strategies for Forex Cross Currency Pairs
Effective forex strategies that exploit cross rate exchange discrepancies involve some of the most popular technical indicators.
Price Divergence Strategy: EUR/AUD
In this example for the EUR/AUD cross currency pair, traders use the divergence between the price and the On-Balance Volume (OBV) indicator to decide on taking long or short positions. Additionally, the MACD indicator is used to identify precise entry and exit points.
Entry
Traders look for a bearish/bullish divergence between the price and the OBV: the price is moving up/down, while the OBV is moving lower/higher, signalling a potential reversal of price momentum. The MACD line crossing below/above the signal line confirms a potential short or a long entry.
Stop Loss
Stop loss may be placed above/below the recent swing high or low for short and long positions, respectively.
Take Profit
Traders may set a take-profit target at a predefined support/resistance level or when the MACD line shows signs of a potential reversal.
You can visit FXOpen and try out the available technical analysis tools on our free TickTrader trading platform.
Bollinger Bands, Stochastic, and ADX Strategy: GBP/JPY
This strategy is effective in ranging markets. Bollinger Bands help identify price volatility, and the Stochastic Oscillator assists in pinpointing potential reversal points within the range. Traders often include the Average Directional Index (ADX) to assess the strength of the range-bound market.
Entry
Traders may consider a long/short position when the price touches the lower/upper Bollinger Band and then reverses. The signal should be confirmed by the Stochastic Oscillator moving above/below the oversold/overbought level, while the ADX should have low values, which confirms the weakness of the current trend.
Stop Loss
Traders may consider placing a stop loss just outside the Bollinger Bands for both long and short positions, taking into account their risk preference.
Take Profit
For long/short positions, traders might take profit when the price touches the opposite Bollinger Band and the Stochastic Oscillator makes a bearish/bullish reversal.
Price Reversal Strategy: EUR/JPY
This strategy aims to identify potential trend reversals based on overbought or oversold conditions as indicated by the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Money Flow Index (MFI).
Entry
Traders may consider entering a long/short position when both RSI and MFI indicate oversold/overbought conditions, typically below 30 and above 70 for RSI and below 20 and above 80 for MFI.
Stop Loss
The theory states that a stop loss may be placed just below/above the recent swing low/high or a significant support/resistance level, depending on the trader’s risk management goals.
Take Profit
Take-profit targets might be based on potential reversals in the opposite direction of the trade, signalled by both RSI and MFI being in the overbought/oversold area.
Final Thoughts
Cross currency trading provides a unique avenue for diversification and strategic opportunities. Understanding the challenges and employing effective strategies involving multiple indicators may empower traders to deal with this complex but rewarding segment of the forex market. You can open an FXOpen account and try your advanced cross currency pairs trading strategies.
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Crosscurrency
BEST CROSS CURRENCY PAIR EUR/GBPNow the dollar is going through a turbulent time, and EURGBP will help us avoid problems related to the dollar, because the pair does not contain the main world currency.
In addition, after Brexit, new interesting opportunities have opened up, which I will discuss below.
Dollar
Most traders choose to trade pairs in which there is a dollar due to the large liquidity.
Liquidity is a trap for a trader, especially intraday traders, but beginners do not understand this.
This liquidity is created by large players whose goal is to collect your stops and manipulate the market.
Such a market is very difficult to predict and very often your positions will be closed by the stop.
The only way out of this unfavorable situation is to trade cross-pairs.
Cross-currency pairs
There are 8 recognized major currencies of developed countries with stable economies.
The fact that these currency pairs can interact with each other without the mediation of the dollar makes them so attractive and resistant to external news and stuffing from the United States.
Cross-pairs, unlike dollar currency instruments, have the following advantages:
A more unambiguous reaction to economic indicators;
Limited (half-day) volatile trading period;
The opportunity to calmly move positions through the night, as pairs react poorly to news from the United States;
EURGBP Cross-pair
The EURGBP cross-pair ranks first among the crosses in terms of transaction volumes. The EU and the UK are connected to each other geographically and politically, until 2020 it was a single union. In 2016, British citizens voted for the option of Britain exit, giving the world a new word "Brexit".
After Brexit, the pair began to grow, giving a good opportunity for earnings. In addition, the EURGBP pair always reacts to problems in the global economy in the same way - with the growth of the euro, for the simple reason that the economy of the Union is larger than the economy of the island UK.
The economic crises of the XXI century have raised the exchange rate of the pair to the same levels, which allows you to build countertrend strategies, as well as to fix profits in the interim.
Best trading time
The most active time of EURGBP trading is from 7 to 16 in London.
A unique feature of EURGBP is a decrease in trading activity during the American session, which is explained by the absence of USD in the instrument.
The day trader can afford not to sit waiting for the release of the Fed minutes and not to increase the stop loss before the publication of the NFP.
How exactly to trade and what strategies to apply?
The pair is characterized by a lower percentage of knocked-out stops, since the price does not make unexpected jumps, unlike the dollar.
Thanks to this, you can trade using classic trend strategies.
As a rule, the movement is most often unidirectional. That is, having opened positions in the right direction, you can safely keep it until the evening or put a take profit.
The tactics of late entry, at about 10 o'clock in London, will help to weed out false breakouts.
Daily trends after Brexit
After Brexit, the pair gives very clear and understandable trends. You can even use a simple moving average to open good deals.
The graph is literally "like in textbooks". It is unknown how long such a picture will last.
Conclusion
Cross-pairs are special currencies that can give a trader a number of advantages over other instruments. This situation arises because crosses are not interesting to large players, market makers work out technical trading on them without mega-fluctuations in liquidity and "hunting for stops".
In general, EURGBP is a calm pair, suitable for beginners and still providing opportunities for trend trading on D1.
TRADE IDEA AUDCHFSWING TRADING JOURNAL
If you have no running trade for AUDUSD or NZDUSD then maybe you want to consider this idea
SELL AUDCHF around 61.8 FIB
SL above the Red Line
Final TP at Blue Box
Manage this trade with your trading style, maybe you want to;
1. Close your position early (at 1R, 2R or any profit level)
2. Move your SL to break even
3. Scale out
4. Trailing stop
5. Re-entry if bearish structure still valid
6. etc
If you have AUDUSD or NZDUSD in active, do not trade this!
No Profit Guarantee, Good Luck!