MetaTrader 4 is one of the most popular platforms when talking about trading forex and commodities. One would say it is famous for its user-friendly interface; however, many traders do not make use of all the advanced capabilities of the platform. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader, there are a lot of tips and tricks through which your trading experience will be made very facile and your performance improved.
One of the first things you must do is customize your chart layout. Although MT4’s default layout works well, personalizing it to fit your trading style makes all the difference. You may change the candlestick colors, background and even grid line colors, making it easier on the eyes for you and more suited to your strategy. Candlestick charts are one of the most useful tools for commodities trading because they can provide much detail on movements regarding prices in some periods, hence easier to find out whether there is a trend or reversal.
In addition, the same platform contains technical indicators like moving averages, Bollinger Bands, and RSI which traders use to perform technical analysis. Moving average is indeed doing a great deal of difference by adjusting their settings to the latter ones for commodities trading. You may adjust the period of your moving average to track a short-term fluctuation in oil or gold prices, for example.
If you like to use a couple of indicators at the same time, MT4 allows you to combine them in the same chart. Combining trend-following indicators like moving averages with momentum indicators like RSI depicts a much clearer picture of the market and is particularly useful in commodities trading where trends can change very fast and one need to know direction as well as strength.
Another excellent feature about MT4 is that you can include personal templates. Now that you have set up a chart with your favorite indicators and layout, you can save this one off as a template too. This will allow you to roll out the same settings to the other charts, saving you lots of time and ensuring consistency with your trades. Whether you have multiple commodities or forex pairs to track, having your chart setup ready will serve automatically to smoothen the analysis process.
Those who would like to automate trade might appreciate such sudden change in MT4 via its Expert Advisors or EAs. You can hence establish an EA-based automatic trade based on some set conditions. You may program the EA to put a trade once the commodity price touches a certain level, thus taking the emotion out of your decisions. This may hence be very useful in commodities trading, given its fast character.
Finally, do not forget to utilize the back-testing feature of MetaTrader 4. You can use historical data in order to test your strategies; check out exactly how they would have performed in the old days. That is a great way for you to fine-tune up your approach before you start risking real capital. With back-testing, you will pinpoint the weaknesses in your strategy and make the adjustments for better trading performance.
From all these shortcuts and tips, you will be able to make the most out of MT4 in improving your commodity trade. With custom charts, technical indicators, automated trades, and back tested strategies, you can be a proficient and confident trader.
