Behind every candle is a simple force: more buyers than sellers, or the reverse. Understanding what creates that imbalance keeps you grounded when indicators tempt you to overcomplicate.
The real drivers
Currency demand comes from trade (paying for imports/exports), investment flows (buying a country's assets), central-bank policy (interest rates), and sentiment (risk appetite). Higher rates tend to attract capital; uncertainty drives money toward safe havens like USD, JPY and CHF.
Flow over prediction
You cannot forecast these flows precisely, and no honest educator claims to. What you can do is recognise the regime (is the dollar bid? is risk on or off?) and trade with the prevailing flow rather than fighting it.
Why this matters for technicals
Support and resistance, structure and indicators are all just ways of reading the footprint of supply and demand. Keeping the underlying force in mind stops you from trusting a pattern that has no flow behind it.
Key takeaways
- Prices move on trade, investment flows, central-bank policy and sentiment.
- Higher rates attract capital; fear flows to safe havens (USD, JPY, CHF).
- Trade with the prevailing flow; technicals just read supply and demand.