Technical Analysis Plain and Simple: Charting the Markets in Your Language, Third Edition

35. Cycles

Most technical analysts study price movements using bar charts. This method, while very important, does not take advantage of the “other” data series on the chart: time (although point and figure and tick volume charts are used to study price movements without regard to time at all). Cycle analysis attempts to find recurring major and minor peaks and troughs in price movement for better trade timing. This chapter will take a brief look at cycles and highlight a particular use.

What Is a Cycle?

A cycle is a regularly occurring sequence of events. The sun rising every morning and setting in the evening is a cycle. The four seasons are one cycle. In financial and commodity markets, a cycle is loosely defined as price ...