Before anything, tnx for the excellent postings!
Loonie
I concur that fundamentally, there ought to be some adjustments to current prices: oil prices haven't got much further to go, because i think US recession is a fact, right now, and not a potential event. In commodities what really moves is demand and weather to which I add geopolitical issues, in the case of energy-related commodities.
The reason i'm willing to go against long-term trend is that the system i'm currently using is focused on lower leverage trading daily timeframe (since i'm not yet full time and can't trade unless at home, to trade shorter timeframes). Also I have an opinion that fundamentals awareness take time to be incorporated in prices. Like u said before, their greatest use is in predicting the strength of a trend.
So fundamentals matter but still fx is so technical (unlike stocks) that i rather follow technicals (trending vs ranging), accompanied by fundamental anaylisis to understand when turning points (V.Sperandeo:"Change of trend, where fortunes are made") occur and if they are reliable or merely "traps", besides ranging interpretation and trend stregth. In essence it is a true technical system that will follow market behavior meticulously, based on the assumption that in the end all factors interpreted by the masses are incorporated in price behavior.
Eur/Usd
Here's a good example of fundamentals vs market participants expectations. Fundamentals should be enough to range or even start reversing the trend. But a hell-bent central bank governor (Trichet) and general unawareness of economic trends (as in Europe many economists are already declaring that the EU economy has reached its peak for the current cycle), have made the continuing of trend possible and very real (i'm long!).
I still believe this bull ride has legs to reach 1.54-1.55.

Loonie
I concur that fundamentally, there ought to be some adjustments to current prices: oil prices haven't got much further to go, because i think US recession is a fact, right now, and not a potential event. In commodities what really moves is demand and weather to which I add geopolitical issues, in the case of energy-related commodities.
The reason i'm willing to go against long-term trend is that the system i'm currently using is focused on lower leverage trading daily timeframe (since i'm not yet full time and can't trade unless at home, to trade shorter timeframes). Also I have an opinion that fundamentals awareness take time to be incorporated in prices. Like u said before, their greatest use is in predicting the strength of a trend.
So fundamentals matter but still fx is so technical (unlike stocks) that i rather follow technicals (trending vs ranging), accompanied by fundamental anaylisis to understand when turning points (V.Sperandeo:"Change of trend, where fortunes are made") occur and if they are reliable or merely "traps", besides ranging interpretation and trend stregth. In essence it is a true technical system that will follow market behavior meticulously, based on the assumption that in the end all factors interpreted by the masses are incorporated in price behavior.
Eur/Usd
Here's a good example of fundamentals vs market participants expectations. Fundamentals should be enough to range or even start reversing the trend. But a hell-bent central bank governor (Trichet) and general unawareness of economic trends (as in Europe many economists are already declaring that the EU economy has reached its peak for the current cycle), have made the continuing of trend possible and very real (i'm long!).
I still believe this bull ride has legs to reach 1.54-1.55.
