The February melt begins

14 February 2006

February History has shown that if ever the bears are at their most aggressive then it is now. Fundamentals also suggest that this year looks likely to be less volatile than last year. The very nature, of traders developing experience and not being panicking into trading lowers volatility.

History shows that February is normally a bearish month, with over buying through the Winter creating an uncomfortable position for the longs which in February they feel they need to off load. In a week March 06 has fallen £7, and this fall is small in comparison to the £23 drop seen since the beginning of December. Powerisk had mentioned March in previous news articles ("Does the spark spread ever breakdown?" , "March Moves Down - but we knew it would.")

From a trading point of view, this time of year traditionally is not a bad time to cover shorts. Or even get long. Picking market bottoms is never easy, and one would always protect against doing one large trade, to cover a complete position, but perhaps the risk management view, would be to cover some upward movements by hedging some exposure now. This is prudent, it will not be the bottom of the market but it is closer to a fundamental low than any of the highs we have seen.


Bear Market  Risk Management  Volatility 

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