Daily Observations: December 19, 2012

Current Positions:

- Long EURCHF from 1.2018, Stop at 1.1990, Target 1 at 1.2500, Target 2 at 1.2750

Recently Closed Positions:

- Stopped Short AUDJPY from 88.83 at 88.80 for +3-pips

- Stopped Short EURJPY (1/2) from 111.10 at 111.10 for 0-pips, (1/2) at 111.45 for -35-pips

- Stopped Short USDJPY from 84.15 at 84.35 for -20-pips

Time Frame: 1-day to 1-week

What started off as a promising week - catching the highs in the Yen-crosses only to see them fill their respective gaps (to the pip in some cases) before ripping higher - is now a disappointment. There's a saying my colleague Michael Boutros says around the desk - "no one ever lost money booking profit." This is perhaps the best lesson to end the year with; after sitting up over +60-pips in AUDJPY, +100-pips in EURJPY, and +40-pips in USDJPY, the market started to turn against me on the lower time frames (Hammers/bottoming patterns on 15m, 1H) yet I consciously decided to let my trades play out. Obviously, this was a mistake. Further, adjusting my Stop on the Short EURJPY position was very evidently short-sighted and a result of irrational decision making.

Missed opportunities like this are disappointing, but they aren't wasted if a lesson is learned; accordingly, it's always good to review proper risk management guidelines to avoid these mistakes in the future.

Any other trade ideas and general macroeconomic musings can be found in the Real Time Newsfeed, or by following me on twitter @CVecchioFX.

--- Written by Christopher Vecchio, Currency Analyst

To contact Christopher Vecchio, e-mail cvecchio@dailyfx.com

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