Scalping USD/HKD feels odd because there is almost nothing to scalp

[Shadow Trader]

Blunt opinion: pegged and managed pairs are poor scalping material, and the strange feel of the chart is the clue.

USD/HKD trades inside a band enforced by the monetary authority, which buys or sells to defend the edges. USD/SAR is tied to the dollar at a fixed level. Price on those charts spends most of its time in tiny moves that look like noise, because it is noise: rounding, quote refreshes, and small interest rate differentials moving forward points.

Spread is the trouble. The typical move is smaller than the cost of entering, so a scalp has to win a lot and fast to net out. Swap costs and rollover are significant relative to the range as well.

The interesting action is at the edges. When the HKD pair nears the band limit, there is real information, but that is a rare event and it comes with intervention risk and a jumpy market.

So the odd feeling is accurate. A chart where everything is flat and nothing seems to trade is telling you there is not much edge available, and no indicator will manufacture one.

Has anyone found a reason to trade a pegged pair beyond the rare approach to the band edge?