Something strange is going on...

The FOMC minutes this morning set off a lukewarm reaction from the
market with the end result being almost back where it started.

However, after Bernanke finished with his Q and A portion, the USD, to
quote some traders, collapsed!

The market moved with such ferocity and speed that a lot of stops were
taken out and both the EUR and the AUD went beyond their channels and
appreciated strongly against the USD.

For one thing, while the answers of Bernanke shed some doubt on the
prospect of commencing tapering this September, the bottom line was that
the US economy was still on track for tapering because it appeared to be
on the road to recovery. Then there was the general agreement among
traders prior to the move, that the USD was on an uptrend.

So the sudden move took most people by surprise and really shook up the
market around 530 am Manila time.

Anyway, there wasn't any damage on my part except that I had just closed
some AUD/USD long position prior to the move! I missed the chance to
make decent profits and I almost got my shorts squeezed.

Just to be safe, I am in consolidation mode and will just wait for the
AUD data for release this morning before stepping back to reassess my
next moves.

Like I said, there is something strange going on and it appears to be
some form of manipulation by maybe a large group which controls a
substantial part of the funds in the forex market. Its good to see that
some other renowned traders have taken notice of the situation and
hopefully, someone will look into where this move (and other curious,
previous moves) came from.

As always, be careful. It's becoming more of a mind game nowadays rather
than a trade based on sound economic and business principles.