Trend following - A systematic strategy that bets on continued price moves. It buys when a currency’s price is in a clear uptrend and sells when it’s in a downtrend, aiming to “ride” momentum. In automated trading, a trend-following EA might use indicators like moving averages or channel breakouts within its
OnTick() or
OnBar() logic to enter trades when a new trend is detected. For example, an MQL5 Expert Advisor could open a long position if the price closes above a long-term moving average, using code like
if(iMA(_Symbol,_Period,50,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,1) > iMA(_Symbol,_Period,100,0,MODE_SMA,PRICE_CLOSE,1)) Trade.Buy();. Similarly, a cTrader cBot can monitor candle patterns with its C# API (e.g.
if(Bars.Last(1).Close > Bars.Last(10).High) PlaceMarketOrder(TradeType.Buy, SymbolName, volume);). Trend following is popular in Forex because strong sustained moves often occur, and algorithms can efficiently capture these moves without human emotion.
