In simple terms, price action is a trading technique that allows a trader to read the market and make trading decisions based on the actual price movement on the chart, rather than relying on lagging indicators. This action is encompassed in technical and chart pattern analysis, which attempts to find order in the sometimes seemingly random movement of price. Price action is included in technical and chart pattern analysis that attempt to discover an order in seemingly random price movements.
Price action trading is a form of technical analysis devoid of any technical indicators. Price action analysis is built upon the tenet that price reflects everything and therefore price is considered to be the, and only indicator that traders need. In price action trading, price is of utmost importance to the trader/analyst. It is a study of price in relation to the past price (or price history). Therefore, price action is nothing but a study of how price changes.
The concept of price action trading embodies the analysis of basic price movement as a methodology for financial speculation, as used by many retail traders and often institutionally where algorithmic trading is not employed. Since it ignores the fundamental factors of a security and looks primarily at the security's price history, although sometimes it considers values derived from that price history it is a form of technical analysis. This past history includes swing highs and swing lows, trend lines, and support and resistance levels.
Any price fluctuation for any instrument is a form of price action. Price action trading is the science and art of trading these price fluctuations over time with little or no indicators. Price action trading in the forex market is a learnable skill that anyone can do. With the proper training, mentor and study, one can learn to trade price action successfully. In the forex market, because it is such a highly liquid market, trading becomes a lot easier because as you have more liquidity, you have a more technically pure market.
The naturally occurring price movement in a market provides all the trade setups and signals one would typically need to develop a profitable and high probability trading method. These signals collectively are called price action trading strategies and they provide a way to make sense of a market’s price movement and help predict its future movements with a high enough degree of accuracy to build a complete strategy and trading plan around.
