3 Clear-Cut Set-ups “Hiding” on the Weekly Chart

I guess it just goes to show that sometimes you find good things "hiding in plain sight," which just so happens to be an adage that applies to trading just as well as it does everyday life. Don't believe me? Well, I have a story to tell you about that, too!

You see, we found no less than three (3) solid trade set-ups "hiding"—and not so well, mind you—on the weekly chart just this past week! Now, it's no secret that traders typically aren't quick to examine the weekly chart, but I believe these recent experiences will show you why you should. Afterall, you never really know where you may find some money just lying there for the taking!

Strategic Advantages of Trading the Weekly Chart

I get it; it's "cool" or even "sexy" to trade those tight, intraday time frames! It's almost like making sense of an otherwise complex puzzle that most people can't crack for themselves. Trading off of the weekly chart, though, can be simpler and more forgiving, so perhaps it just comes down to this: "Do you want to be "cool," or do you want to be profitable?" Now it's not to say that intraday trading can't be done profitably, because it certainly can. However, traders have choices, and we need not simply gravitate to short-term time frames just because it's most popular. Perhaps your methods are better suited to longer-term trading, or you find it easier or even more fun to trade the higher time frames like the weekly chart, and if so, it's a readily available option!

A preferred time frame(s) should be an educated, informed choice specific to each individual trader, much like which markets, set-ups, and/or currency pairs to trade. And while all have merits of their own, trading off of the weekly chart can offer these distinct advantages:

Clearer Price Patterns/Trends

While intraday charts and even the daily may appear choppy or unclear, if there's a prevailing long-term trend in a particular market or asset, you'll always see it reflected on the weekly chart.

Slower, More Deliberate Price Action

With up to 5 days passing between the printing of new bars, you'll have advance warning whenever a key price level is coming into play and won't have to frantically scramble into or out of a position.

Longer-Running Trend Moves:

While moves may take longer to materialize, they'll also last longer when trading on the weekly chart, enabling more sizable profit potential as price covers more ground en route to longer-standing support or resistance levels.

…And 3 Recent, Quality Trades We Found There

The thing about finding that money lying just off the sidewalk, and more notably about finding these three weekly trade set-ups, is this: Anyone could've found them; all that was required was a willingness to look where many were not. So for those who believe that the only actionable trade set-ups are found on the daily chart or lower, check out these high-quality trade opportunities we found "hidden" right there in plain sight on the weekly chart! Keeping an open mind is important if you want to trade successfully.

GBP/CAD: This pair is in an unmistakable uptrend on the weekly chart, so when price action on the daily seemingly turned sideways or even lower, rather than signaling a change in the prevailing uptrend, it instead signaled a complex retracement, which we parlayed into a buying opportunity with as much as 10% in profit potential to the upside.

Watch video: Trading GBPCAD After a Complex Retracement

Gold: With the weekly chart of gold still reflecting a well-publicized freefall, price had put in a three-wave move into overhead resistance in the form of the 50-period moving average (MA). This came as a good cue to sell gold, potentially using an inside bar at the close of the previous week as a trigger for entry. This set-up would target the previous swing low for a low-risk trade featuring 3:1 reward/risk ratio.

Watch video: Quality Gold & Silver Set-ups on the Weekly Chart

Silver: Those who didn't like the inside bar set-up in gold would find similar price action on the weekly chart of silver, which was also testing overhead resistance from the 50-period MA. Here, though, a bearish pin bar reversal, not an inside bar, was a possible entry signal for another high-probability selling opportunity again targeting the prior swing low.

See also: Which Chart Pattern Is Your "Bread and Butter?"

Conclusion

While it wasn't a buried treasure or ticket to early retirement, we found a few welcome payoffs last week as a result of looking where others didn't: on the weekly chart (and down by my feet along that sidewalk!). To me, the message is this: Opportunities can come where and when you least expect them, and for traders, being open to trading off of the weekly chart can create some excellent newfound possibilities!

As you saw, we had many good fortunes there just this past week, so if you aren't currently incorporating weekly analysis into your trading process, or find yourself struggling with or too fixated on intraday price action, try taking a step back and examining the weekly chart instead (or in addition). Maybe you'll have the same good fortunes that we have recently!