There are two types of analysis that traders use, Technical & Fundamental. Many traders use a little bit of both. Of course, there are variations of how to use each of them. One variation would be the use of Seasonal patterns like you get using a Seasonal Indicator. To me, that’s more of a technical indicator based on what happened in prior years though. It’s certainly not giving you an analysis of current pricing.

I am a big fan of Trade Miner which is another software application. from Gecko Software. This software will give you the seasonal tendency of different markets; Futures, Stocks, and Forex. You tell it which markets you want to analyze, which contract months, how many years' worth of data, percent win rate, etc. Press a button and instantly you get to see what that markets have done over the past 10 to 20 years, or longer, during a specific time frame such as from Dec. 10th to Dec. 31st, or June 1st to July 31st

Check it out HERE (My affiliate link) Trade Miner | David Duty's Common Sense Commodities

Fundamentals are more for long-term trading but that doesn’t mean when a USDA or Economic report comes out that they can’t move the market. It’s telling you more or less what the fundamentals are doing.

The WASDE crop report that comes out monthly can have a huge impact on the Grain and Meat markets. Important financial reports like the Non-Farm Payroll and Unemployment reports can also have a huge impact on the Financial markets that day. I try to not be in those specific markets when these reports come out.

Economic Reports: I use Calendar at www.forexfactory.com

USDA Reports: I use www.usda.gov AND www.andersonsgrain.com

There are many times that emotional conditions overpower the fundamental conditionals. This is where Candlesticks can provide extremely valuable insight.

Candlesticks tell you what the underlying emotions of the market are. While Fundamentals are a long-term view, Candlesticks are an instant view of what traders feel the price should be.

I don’t care what the fundamentals or even what the technicals are telling you, pay attention to what the market is telling you. The market is always right.

While fundamentals certainly have their place, I don’t use them much except for being aware of important USDA & Economic report dates. The reason being is that I’m a short-term trader and I seldom hold a position for more than 30 days. Of course, if there is a hurricane forming in the Gulf of Mexico I would pay attention to the Energy markets closely. I don’t think this would necessarily fall into Fundamentals.

Bernard Baruch said, “What is important in market fluctuations are not the events themselves, but the human reactions to those events”. There is no better way to judge the emotions of traders than to learn how to understand Candlesticks.