For the real Techies

[wysinawyg]

In my continual wavering over what to think about trading I'm back to thinking about forex. Now with forex quotes are generally indicative but there are a couple of people (FXCM and Saxobank) who have their own charting which (I assume for Saxobank but know for FXCM) shows actual prices that would have been offered by them.

Now clearly this is the best source of data I'm gonna find, but they don't do a data download (well I think FXCM do if you take out an expensive charting package). What they do have however is a little Java applet (sp?) that shows you the figures for each bar as you move along.

Unfortunately this isn't highlightable so I can't even cut and paste the figures. Now before I start to type out 1200 bars of historical OHLC data for each of a dozen or so currency pairs (assuming that I can't talk them into giving me the data, which I probably can't as I'm not in a position to open an account yet), does anyone have any suggestions on how to strip the data out?

Cheers,

wysi

 

[options]

http://quote2.fxtrek.com/misc/fxcm2.asp
http://quote.fxtrek.com/misc/fxcm.asp
http://www.dailyfx.com/FinanceChart.html
http://www.dailyfx.com/FinanceChart.html

These help?

 

[wysinawyg]

Can't check for sure as I can't use the Java at work but those are just the links to the charts aren't they options?

I'm looking at trying to find a way to get the OHLC data to plug into a back testing programme and don't see anything obvious from the actual charts (as I see it you have to sign up for the $100 a month fxtrek desktop pro charting to get a data export facility).

wysi

 

[options]

Ah! I see!
Yes they are just the live charts.

can't help with your quest then I'm afraid.

too technical for me. I've only just put the abacus away in the cupboard and the socks back on my feet.

 

[mmillar]

you can buy some forex data from www.is99.com/disktrading

Without getting into any arguments about it I believe Deal4Free offer just as good spreads as the main forex co's so they may be a cheap alternative.

 

[wysinawyg]

mmillar,

How close are the IS99 prices to D4F quotes? I'm just concerned because most forex data is just indicative quotes and as there isn't a centralised market about the only thing I would have thought you could be certain of is that the indicative quotes won't match those offered to you! Happy to hear otherwise though as it would be simpler if I could just SB it.

wysi

 

[mmillar]

wysi,

I don't trade Forex so have never compared quotes. I would guess that they are just the same as everybody elses quotes, otherwise people will already be arbitraging. You can ask Disk Trading to send you sample quotes to compare.

I assume you want to get this data so you can backtest some strategy. If that is the case then it shouldn't really matter exactly how accurate the data you get is. If your system works perfectly with FXCM's data but is terrible with D4F whose quotes are every so slightly different then that will be a pretty flaky strategy.

 

[iq200]

The D4F data (any instrument) is *not* the same as what you
will get from the exchanges of from the data providers.
However, whether you gain from using D4F or not depends
on your strategy and the timeframe of your strategy. If you
are into scalping or using say a 1 min timeframe you will not
make money (if any).
Using a slightly higher timeframe you can gain siginificant
money but expect to lose a few points in the spread. Obviously
your D4F strategy should aim to capture the big trends.

Regards,

Imran