Forex Focus  |  MAY 2007

Forex Focus: Gann And Forex by Cornelius Luca

Stocks & Commodities V. 25:5 (12-16): Forex Focus: Gann And Forex by Cornelius Luca Access to foreign exchange trading has opened up exciting trading options for the retail trader. You can now trade alongside corporations and institutions in a highly liquid market that is global, traded around the clock, and highly leveraged. Before jumping into this market, however, we must understand the factors that affect the forex market. With that in mind, STOCKS & COMMODITIES has introduced Forex Focus to better prepare the retail trader to participate in the currency market. Famed stocks and commodities trader William Delbert Gann (1878–1955) was known not only for his profitability but also for his influential set of technical tools. Gann refined several mathematical methods that combined time and price analysis. The complex result helped him make 264 successful trades out of 286 transactions in various stocks in only 25 market days during October 1909 — an incredible feat for a trader! Gann identified four different phases of the market, which his methods can be applied to: bull, peaking, bear, and bottoming markets. The most important features of Gann analysis are: • Geometric forms • Geometric angles • Ratios • Squaring of price and time • Cardinal square GANN GEOMETRIC FORMS W.D. Gann used basic forms of geometry: squares, circles, and triangles. Let’s look at circles first. A circle has 360 degrees, and this number, along with fractions of 360, is widely present in Gann’s research. In order to reach his time targets, he extrapolated 30, 90, 120, 180, and 360 days from significant chart points. These forward periods are potential reversal dates. The secondary reversal dates are 45, 135, 225, and 315. You can also plot the number of weeks in a year around the circumference of a circle. If you divide the circle into quarters, you will obtain the following numbers: 13, 26, 39, and 52 weeks. Any of these dates from a significant peak or trough should be targeted for possible trend reversals.

by Cornelius Luca