Know economics or no economics
Forex traders are often divided into two camps: fundamental traders and technical traders. And some traders use both fundamental and technical analysis. But truly, it is important to pay attention to a daily economic event calendar to have an idea of timely market moving data regardless of your trading style. Personally I prefer to be flat, or have no trades in the market, when any significant economic data is coming out. Often these data events can very quickly move markets up to 100 pips up and/or down and fortunes can be made or lost in seconds. It can be extremely stressful. Some traders only trade during these times of super volatility. It is for you as a forex trader to decide what your strategy is during this volatility, but either way, know what is coming up that day before you trade, do not be blindsided by the news! Some good websites that publish daily world economic events are these: www.forexfactory.com, www.fxstreet.com, www.forexnews.com.