Chuck T, Hmmmm... not really sure what you're saying. Perhaps you could provide specifics as to why your data is better. But even if your data is better for some objective reason (less data error, for instance), there would still be this: If I'm going to trade with a particular broker, it just makes sense that I would also backtest with their data. In my case, I both backtest my strategy and feed my trading program with end-of-day data, so I don't see that it really matters where I get my data. Perhaps I should be getting it from Oanda, where I keep my trading account, but I just don't think it matters so I haven't bothered to change. It would be interesting to hear what intraday backtesters have to say about this. Inthezone, Go with any of the established forex brokers and you should have no problems. All trade 24 hours a day and follow the interbank rates very closely. Otherwise traders would arb them to death. Your concerns about data are unfounded IMO. Regards, chaos
I had some help on this from GTIS, our sister company that provides this service. 1. How accurate is the GTIS prices relative to what actually transpires in the interbank market? ==> GTIS provides an accurate representation of the competitive bids and offers from the major market participants. 2. What % of the total dollar value of currency transactions are represented by the GTIS data? ==> Unlike data from an exchange, foreign exchange prices are not "traded" prices, but rather a stream of competitive bids/offers at which the various banks are interested in trading, and at which the various brokers have a market. 3. Does the quality of the GTIS forex data vary with the time of day or night? ==> I do not believe that the quality of the GTIS data varies with the time of day (or night). The GTIS data represents true 24-hour coverage of the foreign exchange market. 4. Will GTIS forex data pick up the transactions that occur outside of regular trading hours in the U.S.? ==> The GTIS data will reflect price movements 24-hours a day. 5. What can we do to independently assess the quality of the GTIS forex data? ==> I guess that you can compare the GTIS prices with the data from Reuters. I believe that you will find that it compares very favorably, and that dollar for dollar, you will be receiving significantly more value from the GTIS data. 6. Can I download into Excel 15 month's worth of intraday (30 minute bars) historical forex data for analysis? If so, how? ==> eSignal carries 60 days of intraday data, about 5 years of daily FX data. Only last price can be imported in Excel using DDE currently. Chuck @eSignal
Thanks Chuck for your reply. Being able to download the last 15 months of 30 minute data into Excel would be immensely helpful. Not just for forex data, but for any data feed which we may be subscribed to. Any chance this can be put on the upcoming new features list of eSignal? Thanks. -- ITZ
Thanks for the reply Chuck. My question to you now is - can eSignal create a package specifically for Forex traders who don't want to pay for realtime equities - only Forex - and perhaps index futures ? It seems as though your pricing is focused on selling the eSignal service package (Base of $90-100 per month) and then the Forex feed as an addition. I think you might find a there is a quickly growing market of traders looking for just such a service at a competitive (sub $100 per mo. price) price. I'm at least one.
I subscribe to the Esignal forex feed, but I am looking for more than 60 days of intraday data. Does anyone know a good source for this? Chaos helped me find daily data (thanks!) but I really need to find 30 min bars for testing purposes. I have been pleased with the Esignal data feed for the most part, but their lack of historical data is a real pain in the rear. I don't understand why a data vendor would not make the old data available to their customers... I agree with Chaos about testing systems. Ideally I would want to use data from my broker as they would show the prices I am trading on. But for now I am still testing ideas and have not started trading any currencies and thus no forex account. Forex is a strange animal compared to exchange traded products since you must trade at your broker's rates rather than some central marketplace best bid/offer (although arbitrage keeps things close). So it would be possible that prices on the quote feed were not available to you through the broker (and vice versa), making system test results inaccurate.
Chuck, Have you had any time to consider my request for downloadable intraday data? I'm interested in downloading forex data for analysis. Any possibility this feature can be added? If so, when might that be? Haviing this feature would greatly increase the usability of eSignal. Qcharts has this feature via it's Qlink program, and I use it regularly. Thanks. -- ITZ
Downloading data can be done in an Advanced Chart through the Chart Options --> Tools --> Data Export feature. Alternatively with the release of 7.4 at the end of this month, applications can be written using ActiveX controls to download the historical bar data automatically and on a much wider spectrum then just 1 symbol at a time (i.e. Data Export via Advanced Charts). Regarding the amount of data available, starting in July we'll have 5 months of intraday data available, and increasing from that point onward to a max of 2 years.
Hello, I'm a esignal user of Forex data, but the problem is that the data is very bad. I'm not talking about EURUSD or USDJPY, I'm talking of crosses. Spikes 2% over market... many many many spikes. I chated with esignal live suport but they don't do anything The major problem is that esignal uses many contributors, and some are very weak. My sujestion is, keep just a few but good ones. Trie to see EURCAD or EURAUD chart and you will se what i'm talking about. For the prices i was expecting beter data.
I tried MyTrack and FOREX data isn't better: too many spikes. On the other hand I found good data and nice charting + news from Futuresource. alberto