Footprint charts show volume at each price level, split by buyers and sellers. On futures, with exchange data, they're well established. On spot FX, the picture is less clear.
The challenge:
- Spot FX has no central exchange, so there's no consolidated volume.
- Footprint tools for FX use tick volume, or the broker's own trade data.
- Some use futures data (e.g. 6E for EURUSD) as a proxy.
If using futures data:
- CME currency futures have real volume and aggressor data.
- But trading hours, liquidity and price differ slightly from spot.
- The relationship between futures and spot is close but not identical.
Possible uses for scalpers:
- Identifying absorption at levels (large volume, little price movement).
- Spotting exhaustion at extremes.
- Confirming breakouts with volume.
Tools: Sierra Chart, ATAS, Quantower, NinjaTrader with CME data feeds.
Has anyone found footprint analysis on FX (via futures) genuinely helpful? Or is it a distraction for spot traders?
Footprint charts on FX: is anyone using them effectively?
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FXS London Scalper
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Footprint charts on FX: is anyone using them effectively?
FXS Official Team | London Session Desk