(eToro Blog) This week we will look at OpenBook trader: salah2ldin and analyze the trading history and performance of the portfolio. The trader has returned 146% in the last six months and 30% this week. This trader has built his portfolio by copying eToro top guru’s such as NMarijus, Moksel1972 and KENT1668 to name a few. As a result of this, trader: salah2ldin has diversified trading activity across most major instruments. The trader trades GER30, Oil, Gold and Silver in addition to currency pairs such as EURUSD, AUDUSD, GBJPY and EURJPY.
The trader uses medium risk strategies in 72% of his portfolio. This portfolio does place a large number of trades (1000 trades in over six months) and so far 97.9% of the trades have been profitable. Followers and Copiers evaluating this trader’s performance should also be aware that this trader has open positions at the moment.
Looking at trader: salah2ldin’s P&L graph, we identified several interesting aspects. The trader started trading in June on the OpenBook platform. Between beginning of July and end of September, the trader’s P&L was in a range between 5% and 15%. During the same period the EURUSD, which is used as a proxy for risk sentiment by traders, also traded in a range between 1.4100 and 1.4500. In the beginning of October, the trader’s strategy failed to perform and the trader’s P&L graph reached an all time low of a loss of 28%. Interestingly the EURUSD also reached a low of 1.3200 breaking through the support of its range. The trader changed his strategy after this and we see his P&L graph making high highs until it reached an all time high of 150% on December 13th. The trader used strategies and copied other traders that took advantage of the 1000 pip rally and subsequent retracement of 1000 pips on the EURUSD by December 13th. The trader was prepared for both bullish and bearish sentiment in the markets with his new strategy. The trader’s P&L curve dropped another 50% by December 18th but the trader has managed to recover most of it by the close of trading on December 22nd.
The Bank of Japan kept rates on hold between 0 and 0.1% earlier this week. The BOJ painted a bleak picture of the economy and said that economic growth had stalled due to a slowdown in the global economy, the strong Yen and the recent floods in Thailand. With negative inflation rates, the BOJ said that no change in monetary policy was planned until prices showed medium to long term stability. The USDJPY traded in a range between 77.70 and 78.20 for the week and the BOJ rate decision did not affect the pair much. The Trade Balance report agreed with the BOJ outlook and showed that trade deficit in November grew to 684.7 billion Yen from 273.8 billion Yen. Imports rose by 11.4% and exports dropped 4.5%. Traders on OpenBook are primarily long on the USDJPY with average limits at 79.00 and stops at 77.70.
The European Central Bank announced that it had offered 489 billion Euros in an auction to regional banks. The loans know as Long Term Financing Operation (LTRO) are part of the ECB’s efforts to inject liquidity into the financial markets. The fact that so much liquidity was demanded by banks in the region did not help bolster confidence for the Euro and the pair slumped after the announcement. ECB President Mario Draghi in his statements earlier this week reiterated the need for tighter fiscal union and noted high economic uncertainty in the region. Draghi refused to come to the rescue of the sovereign debt markets. EU Finance Ministers announced that an agreement had been reached to provide 150 billion Euros to the IMF. Traders on OpenBook are primarily long on the EURUSD with average limits at 1.3250 and stops at 1.2950.
The U.S. reported a host of economic data this week. The United States third quarter GDP was revised down to 1.8%. The weaker than expected GDP was attributed to decline in health care spending. Initial jobless claims fell 4,000 to 364,000 in the week that ended December 17th. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey printed at 69.9, showing an improvement in consumer confidence over October’s survey. The NAHB Housing Market index survey of home builder confidence printed at 21, which was an improvement for the third month in a row. Housing starts and building permits data pointed to rise in the construction of apartment buildings. Americans are turning to renting as tighter requirements at banks have made it difficult for most to qualify for mortgages. Existing home sales in November were reported slighter better than expectations. The Dow (DJ30) has gained 300 points this week.
New Zealand reported third quarter GDP growth at 0.8% which came in higher than market expectations of 0.6% growth. The strong growth in GDP was attributed to the Rugby World Cup held in the third quarter that attracted a large number of visitors. Finance Minister Bill English expects growth to continue in 2012 despite global economic uncertainty caused by the sovereign debt crisis in Europe. New Zealand continues to benefits from the elevated commodity prices. Traders on OpenBook are primarily short on the NZDUSD with average limits at 0.7650 and stops at 0.7800.
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