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  4. December 2007
  5. The Obstinate Passion of Foreign Exchange Professionals: Technical Analysis

Journal of Economic Literature

ISSN 0022-0515 (Print) | ISSN 2328-8175 (Online)

The Obstinate Passion of Foreign Exchange Professionals: Technical Analysis

  • Lukas Menkhoff
  • Mark P. Taylor
Journal of Economic Literature
vol. 45, no. 4, December 2007
(pp. 936–972)
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Abstract

Technical analysis involves the prediction of asset price movements from inductive analysis of past movements. We establish a number of stylized facts, including that technical analysis is widespread in the foreign exchange market and that it may be profitable. We then analyze four arguments that have been put forward to explain this: that the market may not be fully rational; that technical analysis may exploit the influence of official interventions; that it may be an efficient form of information processing; and that it may inform on nonfundamental influences. While each may have some validity, the latter is the most plausible.

Citation

Menkhoff, Lukas, and Mark P. Taylor. 2007. "The Obstinate Passion of Foreign Exchange Professionals: Technical Analysis." Journal of Economic Literature, 45 (4): 936–972. DOI: 10.1257/jel.45.4.936

JEL Classification

  • F31 Foreign Exchange
  • G15 International Financial Markets