A Pullback: Trade Against a Trend
Reading analytical outlooks on the price movements, you might be met with the word “pullback”. Many trading strategies are based on a pullback action. Pullbacks allow you to trade against the trend.
Do you think that it’s wrong as the theory teaches you to follow the primary trend? What is a pullback actually? Keep reading to learn about tricky pullbacks.
Pullback: Definition
If you are familiar with a price chart, you know that an asset never goes straight. It moves up and down even within trends. Look at the image below. We have a strong uptrend. Every time the price goes down, it’s a pullback.
A pullback is a short-term price movement against the primary trend.
You should already be able to catch the pullback meaning from the explanation above. Simply stated, a pullback is a movement against the primary trend for a short period of time.
Triggers of Pullbacks
We can say that a pullback is a pause of the primary trend. It means that bulls in a downtrend and bears in an uptrend take control over the price for a while. There can be several reasons why the price changes its direction. To predict a pullback, you should learn about fundamental analysis.
Pullbacks occur due to a change in market sentiment.
- Speaking of Forex, there can be news that signals a weakness of the base currency. Economic events mentioned in a calendar also affect the strength of currencies.
- If you trade metals, you should pay attention to the news. The overall market sentiment has an impact on their price.
- Choosing oil, you should follow the news that defines the market sentiment as oil is a risky asset. Also, crude oil inventories data influences the commodity’s value.
- If you are experienced enough, you can try pullback stock trading. Earnings reports, internal company’s events and industry news affect the price movement.
Pullbacks: Real Examples
To predict pullbacks, you should know how to analyze price movements. Let’s consider a real example of a pullback.
Pullbacks occur not only on currency charts, but on the chart of any financial asset. Consider an example of a pullback stock trading. It’s a four-hour chart of Apple stocks. As you can see a pullback may also happen in the downtrend. Moreover, during a pullback candlesticks can break above resistance or below support, but later return.
Pullbacks: Benefits and Drawbacks
A pullback is a complicated pattern that has more disadvantages, especially for a beginner trader.
Benefits | Drawbacks |
Better conditions. A pullback allows traders to buy at a lower price in an uptrend and sell at a higher price during a downtrend. Imagine you couldn’t catch the beginning of the uptrend but still would like to enter the market. The price moves up in the upward trend; thus, every time the peak is formed, your chances to buy at an appropriate price reduces. However, when a pullback happens, you get an opportunity to get a lower price. | Pullback or reversal? It’s not easy to determine whether it’s a pullback or a reversal, especially for newbies in the Forex market. Imagine you thought the market turned down for a short-term and kept your trade open expecting the trend will continue. However, it was a trend reversal, and you suffered significant losses. |
Difficult to predict. It’s hard to predict the beginning of the pullback and its end. You can easily miss the point when the trend resumes. |
Not financial advice. The content of this article is provided by Libertex for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, investment research, a personal recommendation, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument or other asset. It is general in nature and is not tailored to any individual reader, so it cannot account for your personal circumstances, financial situation, knowledge, experience, or investment objectives. Any decision to act on this content is taken at your own discretion and risk, and you remain solely responsible for assessing whether a product or strategy is right for you and for seeking independent professional advice where appropriate.
Risk warning. Trading in financial instruments and other assets, particularly leveraged products such as CFDs, is complex and carries a high risk of losing money rapidly. Leverage magnifies both gains and losses, so small market movements can lead to disproportionate losses. The value of the assets referenced may rise or fall, and you may lose your entire invested amount. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The use of artificial intelligence, algorithms, automated strategies, or any other analytical tool in trading does not guarantee any particular outcome, does not eliminate risk, and does not replace your own judgement — you remain fully responsible for assessing every instrument, strategy, and decision, and for the results of your trading.
Why trade with Libertex?
- Get access to a demo account free of charge
- Receive live technical assistance 5 days a week, 24 hours a day
- Enjoy leverage of up to 1:500
- Use a platform for any device: Libertex and MetaTrader 4 and 5
- Pay zero commission on withdrawals in Latin America
- Benefit from up to $500 protection on your first trades with Negative Trade Protection