Political and economic changes are the basis here as they frequently affect currency prices. Traders relying on this analysis gather information about unemployment forecasts, political ideologies, economic policies, inflation and growth rates from news sources. Most traders combine Forex trading strategies to plot actual entrance and exit points and double-check the information.
Forex trading strategies consider that just like most markets the market is controlled by supply and demand. The two most critical affecting factors for them are interest rates and the strength of the economy that is affected by changes in the GDP, trade balances and the amount of foreign investment.
There are many indicators released by government and academic sources on a weekly or monthly basis. The most important and commonly followed are: interest rates, international trade, CPI, durable goods orders, PPI, PMI and retail orders. These are pretty reliable measures of economic health and are closely followed by all traders that rely on fundamental analysis while mapping out their Forex trading strategies.
Interest rates can strengthen or weaken the currency. In some cases high interest rates attract foreign money, however high interest rates frequently cause stock market investors to sell off their portfolios. They do so believing that the higher cost of borrowing money will adversely affect many companies. If enough investors sell off their holdings it can cause a downturn in the market and negatively affect the economy. Which of these two effects will take place, depends on many complex factors. Usually economic observers agree on how the current change in interest rates will affect the general economy and currency prices.
International Trade. If there is a trade deficit, it is usually considered a negative indicator, as more money is leaving the country than entering it. This can have a devaluing effect on the currency, but usually trade imbalances are already factored into the market consideration. If a country normally operates with a trade deficit, currency price should be unaffected. It will change if the deficit is greater than expected.
The cost of living (CPI) and the cost of producing goods (PPI) are important indicators as well. You should also watch the GDP (the value of all the goods produced in the country) and the M2 Money Supply which measures the total amount of currency for a country.
In the US alone there are 28 major indicators that have a strong effect on the financial market and should be closely watched. This information can be found on the Internet and is provided by many brokers. Use it for working out your Forex trading strategies.