Trading volume

Trading volume is high through the day simply because of the sheer size of the market but this volume will peak whenever the trading hours of two or more of the three main trading areas overlap. This in fact happens at two time periods between 2 am EST and 4 am EST when the Australasian and European markets are operating at the same time and between 8 am EST and 12 pm EST when the European markets and North American markets are both open at the same time.

So, unless your trading strategy involves specific currency pairs being traded in particular markets, the times above are those times when you will see the greatest number of possible trades and thus the times which many traders find to be the most profitable.

Money supply –

The monetary aggregates are alternative measures of the money supply by degree of liquidity. Changes in the monetary aggregates indicate the thrust of monetary policy as well as the outlook for economic activity and inflationary pressures. The monetary aggregates (know individually as M1, M2 and M3) used to be all the rages a few years back because the data revealed the Fed’s (tight or loose) hold on credit conditions in the economy. The Fed issues target ranges for money supply growth. In the past, if actual growth moved outside those ranges it often was a prelude to an interest rate move from the Fed. Today, monetary policy is understood more clearly by the level of the federal funds rate. Money supply fell out of vogue in the nineties, due to a variety of changes in the financial system and the way the Federal Reserve conducts monetary policy. The Fed is working on some new measures of money supply, and given the way economic indicators ebb and flow in popularity, don’t be surprised if the monetary aggregates make a comeback in the future.