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[elmagd2000]

Unlike Equity and Commodities traders, Forex traders are missing a complete bundle of technical indicators that based mainly on Volume and Open interest like OBV ( one of the recommended technical indicators by top technical analysts like John Murphy )

This is becuase of the fact that Fx market is traded over the counter by many institutions and large banks around the world so it is not easily done job to calculate or gauage Volume figures.

Nevertheless, some charting softwares are offering a snap shot of Volume like Metatrder or offering Future Currencies volume as an indicator of volume.

How far have you been with FX Volume? Do you know any web reference that presents any studies about Fx volume?

Plus, Anyone has idea about how Volume is calculated in Metatrader?

Thanks
Hani

[Harlequin]

Hi Hani. Unfortunately this is a common problem.
Below you see my Tradestation 8, intraday.
There's volume but volume is only upticks and downticks summation provided by R.J. O'Brien. There's not volume in the traditional meaning, id est quantities exchanged.
You have the number of upticks and downticks from your broker's activity. It is not the same thing. Hani, you're right saying we cannot use many precious strategies based on volume.

I guess this is the situation of all individual speculators. I remember that esignal too doesn't provide true volume . I would be curious to know if the situation is the same for institutional traders. In particular, exactly because forex is an eletronic network, there's no reason of not having a database of exchanged quantities. IMHO.

[elmagd2000]

Harlequin,

Thanks for sharing your ideas about FX volume. Totally agree with you that must be some type market profile volume study available for institutions and big investors. It is like a hidden weapon to invest. Can any institution or bank invest a $ billion without such a volume study !!?

Volume and open interest study can give you a clear view of market flow. Al you have to do then "Go With The Flow" startegy. This is for sure available for big market makers, at least from their customers base flow which sometimes can drive the market in someway.

Regards,

Hani

p.s. How do you evaluate R.J. O'Brien in terms of execution? there was a debate here about that..

[Harlequin]

Originally posted by elmagd2000
p.s. How do you evaluate R.J. O'Brien in terms of execution? there was a debate here about that..

Hani, I've just opened the account with them, really few days, so I cannot give you a right valuation. As soon as I will have good or bad news surely I'll make a post here
Can you indicate me where the debate was ? I cannot find him.
Thanks.

[elmagd2000]

Harlequin,

http://www.moneytec.com/forums/_showthread/_s-/_threadid-6764

Hani

[Harlequin]

Thank you Hany. There a guy speaks about troubles with small accounts. I don't know if this is true. In Tradestation forum I read requests for more historical ticks data (they provide only about 15 days of ticks) but I've never read compliances on execution. I can be mistaken. In any case I've not opened a very small account. 60,000 USD and I plan to risk no more than 1% in each trade (I always stick to my plans). The problem for those with small accounts (I read the minimum is 5,000) is if they don't enable smaller lot sizes. By now with Tradestation you have to use an external old platform to enter trades. This platform has a minimum lot size of 100,000. If someone with a 5,000 account take a 20 pips risk is in any case a huge risk, (in accordance to my views). Thus I advise to call them for enamblig smaller lots, that are available on request.
I'll request smaller lots anyway, because it is suitable to my risk-adverse approach and to trailing stops strategy.
I choosed them because I already had all my indicators in the prosuite2000i and in particular because they offer guaranteed stops (under 1 million trades). This is very important imho.
In the end: I'm confident. I think Tradestation has a too important name to blemish it with an unreliable market maker.
I'm not an expert. I trade from years but I'm new to forex. In the last 7 months in which I became interested in it I've studied my plan, tried a mini-account and only now I'm starting seriously. I'm always very slow but I never regretted not being hasty

[elmagd2000]

Harlequin,
Good luck, interested to talk about TS and forex with you via e-mail. pls. give me your e-mail ....

Again,
Anyone has any idea or recommendation regarding FX Volume ?

Regards,
Hani

[ultra7]

Hi Hani,
Honestly, im my opinion, the volume you attach from the MetaTrader charts, simply by checking the volume option, is plain useless. They're not interactive, not even an indicator to me. Can't even tell the sizes exactly. I used to save the charts as .csv, then able see the actual volume sizes. (Thats all in excel, not MT). You probably need to do more indicator customisation utilising volumes.

You ask how the Volume is calculated?

Server-side computing done on the transaction traffic, I suppose. I would definitely think its highly not possible to encompass the whole, or even quasi-global market. Common sense will dictate huge costs to do so.

ultra7

[Speculator]

There’re two types of volume… what you get with MT is tick volume… and it should be interactive. It may not be God but it often helps to look at it… you can see many turning points are associated with high tic count/volume .

***"…exactly because forex is an electronic network, there's no reason of not having a database of exchanged quantities. IMHO"***

Forex is not only an electronic network it’s many networks and non networks… plus there’s no central place/Exchange where the transactions take place so no way to collect volume data. Plus there are also many other non electronic ways transactions take place that would be hard to be reflected in the volume…etc…

Hope this helps... Regards...

[elmagd2000]

Then, How do you think Market Sentiment is calculated? Is it released based on a sample of people sentiments assuming that they reflect the whole market.

Do I as a big investor bank or institution trade people's money using a simple crossover system. may be.

It needs a bank trader to unleash his secrets to the floor !!

Hani

[ultra7]

Originally posted by elmagd2000

Do I as a big investor bank or institution trade people's money using a simple crossover system. may be.

It needs a bank trader to unleash his secrets to the floor !!

Hani

I don't understand this logic.

If a bank trader unleashes a secret to the floor, how can it ever, be a secret then? The market - other traders, spectators, wannabes or pros, will see, know, learn, understand, analyse, basically rip his secret off, sooner or later, etc, his so-called 'secret' and call, aint it?

Unless either his call on a miserable sized lot for anyone to notice, or through some secret networks or non-networks, whatever, only he is trading there ALONE or with his 'secret' band, with aliens.

And what floor, you're talking about?

I'll rather stick to Internet and the simplest of all 'secret' system --
***'The Coin-Flip' $$$***!!!....(has anyone heard?)

ultra7

[elmagd2000]

Ultra7,

There are many trading sercrets around. some of them are special studies that give you insight in trading, for example level II charts in Equities which gives market flow in some way.

This is the main Objective of that thread.

On the other side some secrets can't be revealed by institutions and large investors like trading systems.

Regards,
Hani

p.s. Floor is small investors like most of moneytec users