The Forex Diary 1-8-10

Have I under estimated my trading abilities due the the losses I incurred last year or am I a better trader because of it? I believe it’s the latter. I had anticipated trading this morning when the unemployment rate came out. When the market reversed and started an upward short term trend, I backed out because I didn’t know what was going on. The unemployment rate remained at 10.0%. Why did the EUR/USD jump 100 pips? It wasn’t the unemployment report at all. It was the non-farm payroll report that the market was reacting to. Staying out was probably the best move as I didn’t know that the report was coming out. Secondly, I learned how important (along with the unemployment report) that non-farm payroll is. 

As a beginning trader, I made a lot of mistakes. The one I’ve learned from was getting in the market when it’s volatile like today. My first week in the 2010 year, I gained 203 pips. I did that without getting in. Of course, when the next month report comes out, I might be a little more confident to jump in. I will know to be aware of both reports.