Politics also plays a part here, with politicians themselves, and in the last few years we have also seen some key referenda coupled with shifts in grass roots sentiment.

The Producer Price Index or PPI is another key measure of inflation in the economy, only this time one that is designed to measure from the seller’s perspective, as opposed to the consumer’s perspective.

Finally in this module on fundamental analysis, let’s take a look at some of the commodity related data and releases which can impact the commodity currencies particularly.

As I have already mentioned, the primary index to watch during the US trading session is the S&P 500 index, as approximately 75% of the companies listed have a very strong US connection, so can be considered to be a good proxy for the US economy.

If we hop across the English channel, and drive through France we will arrive at Switzerland which, geographically, sits at the heart of Europe yet it is not part of the European Union.

Returning to our house again, and in particular the failure to break the ceiling of resistance on the second floor. The reason for this failure on the price chart, may well have been as a result of sustained areas of old price congestion in the same region, and indeed failures at this level in the past.

As I have already explained, congestion phases are the most important area on any chart, as markets spend more time in no trend than in trend for many reasons, not least because this is where new trends are born.

The New York cut, the London fix and the order boards are three events which deserve special attention as they rarely if ever appear on the calendar of events, and yet they occur every day, and they can trap the unwary trader.

As I mentioned in a previous module, new traders set their expectations far too high when starting out, and this fact is reflected in many different ways, and not least in the amount of money they expect to make and the speed with which they expect to make it.

But how do we analyse this huge market to help us in our trading? And here the answer is yield.