I'm currently evaluating MetaStock Pro FX 10 and observed that volume is not reported in a data window. Also, it seems that obv() (On Balance Volume) function always returns 0. Does it mean that volume information is not available in FX version? Thanks.

Lukasz

It depends upon which security you are viewing.

If you are looking at spot forex then, by definition, no volume is reported.  Spot FX feeds are simply multicontributor bid/ask feeds whereby interbank dealing desks etc. report a bid/ask they are willing to deal at.  There are no actual trade reporting requirements since it is not an exchange.

If you want volume for forex, you should consider forex futures traded on CME.

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www.premiumdata.net

It makes sense, thanks for your answer. I was looking at spot forex.

On the other hand, are there any chart patterns that use volume confirmation (such as head and shoulders pattern) applicable in spot forex trading at all?

Lukasz

If the chart pattern requires volume interpretation then those patterns can't be used in spot forex trading.

Since forex futures and spot forex are highly correlated, perhaps you could do your analysis on futures (which has volume) but trade the spot forex instead.

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www.premiumdata.net

I just noticed that volume for currency pairs is available in MT4 platform (tested on a demo account). I suspect that the reported volume is calculated by a retail broker that provides data feed for MT4.

They could also be providing "tick volume" which is the number of bid/ask price changes that occur within a particular period.

Note that tick volume is not a good proxy for actual trading volume according to various reports I have read, so beware if this is what is being provided.

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www.premiumdata.net

Some brokers provide volume data, but you have to be careful where the data comes from!  Some brokers provide volume as the number of full lots traded in the time period, some provide the number of trades in the time period.  So if in a minute, there was one trade of 100 lots, one data provider might report the volume as 100, the other 1. Some providers only report the volume moving through their platform, some brokers report what is moving through their own system and include one or more other brokers data too.

Check with your provider how they classify "volume" in their data.


Hope this helps.

wabbit

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I think that an even better question for the original poster would be:
As MetaStock FX is a front end to a data feed, which data feeds provide volume for FX data?

eSignal does this

Does Quotecenter?

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Nigel Pendrigh
Living With Abundance @ http://www.NigelPendrigh.Com

NPENDRIGH:

I think that an even better question for the original poster would be: As MetaStock FX is a front end to a data feed, which data feeds provide volume for FX data? eSignal does this Does Quotecenter?

No spot FX data feeds provide actual volume traded since this is impossible to determine via OTC multicontributor feeds.  The banks/dealing desks do not report actual trading volumes.

If you are after tick volume - that is the number of bid/ask CHANGES in any given time period then that is something that some vendors do provide.

I have previously read a report of a study that concluded that tick volume was not fully correlated with actual trading volume.

Again, if you want to see traded volume you need to look at an exchange such as CME that trades currency futures and all futures trades have to be centrally reported.

eSignal provides tick volume (as described here):
http://kb.esignalcentral.com
Then search for all about forex in the search box.
then look for the item "What does Forex volume represent"

MetaStock FX does not provide this.

This has been discussed extensively here:
http://forum.equis.com/forums/thread/25583.aspx

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www.premiumdata.net

Thanks for your reply Richard

Have you used or Do you use eSignal?

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Nigel Pendrigh
Living With Abundance @ http://www.NigelPendrigh.Com

I have used eSignal in the past but no longer do so... most of my trading is medium term now so I have little use for live data feeds.

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www.premiumdata.net

Thank you for the earlier links Richard

I had read the Equis forum thread and it seemed to be 2 years old or more!

The eSignal thread article could not be reached because the "session had expired"

I did find an article headed "eSignal - All about FOREX" that provided some information that interested readers may be able to search for at eSignal's knowledgebase - it is a shame that the tick size is the source of eSignal's volume data and not the consolidated transaction size

If anyone has an answer to my Pivot Point question:
http://forum.equis.com/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=31133#31133

or my selecting a subset of charts question:
http://forum.equis.com/forums/ShowThread.aspx?PostID=31125#31125

The answers would be gratefully received :-)

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Nigel Pendrigh
Living With Abundance @ http://www.NigelPendrigh.Com