In order to make profit on the international foreign exchange market, a trader needs to constantly monitor price movements, in accordance with which he decides whether to buy or sell the currency. Various indicators are of great help in defining price fluctuations.

Indicators are graphically represented mathematical formulae, based on the data about price fluctuations and trade volume changes. They are aimed at showing the current price movement, signaling the price hitting significant levels and, under certain conditions, specifying these areas. There is no 100% accurate indicator though.

Many indicators have been offered for now. You can download and test them for free and thus select the one which would suit your trading style best. The indicators differ in the methods of price analysis.

The base is constituted of a certain period of time and price dynamics within the period. The analysis is carried out with application of several absolute and temporary parameters. The figures are then compared to price values – maximum, minimum, average ones – to traders’ activity on the market and many other market factors. The result received is a definite rate of the expected price movement, to which a trader is targeted. The value is demonstrated on charts as a combination of multicolor zones, lines and points. This is what most indicators look like.

Traders often tend to use several indicators in their work. There are 3 major groups of indicators:

1. Trend indicators, showing price movements; defining the current and expected trend simultaneously or with a little lag;
2. Oscillators, depicting the prolongation or change of the trend in advance or synchronically;
3. Psychological indicators, which determine the sentiment of the market participants.

The indicators’ diagrams can be either extracted to a separate window or integrated into the price chart in MT4 terminal. You can use several indicators at the same time to make more accurate forecasts of further price movement.

At present, MT4 trading platform offers a wide range of integrated indicators.

Added by Tatyana Makhina,
InstaForex Clients’ relationship manager