June was a weird month. The markets felt like they were going nowhere fast. Gold consolidated in a range. The dollar chopped around. Yen crosses had fakeout after fakeout. If you were a breakout trader, June probably felt like a personal attack.
But here’s the thing — I still made money. Not a lot, but 4.7% in a sideways market is nothing to complain about. Let’s look at the numbers, then I’ll explain how I did it and why this boring month might have been more important than my 10% months.
June Performance Breakdown
| Metric | June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Total Return | +4.7% |
| Number of Trades | 11 |
| Winning Trades | 6 |
| Losing Trades | 5 |
| Win Rate | 54.5% |
| Profit Factor | 1.8 |
| Average Win | 1.6R |
| Average Loss | 0.8R |
| Best Trade | +3.2R (EURUSD long) |
| Worst Trade | -1.2R (XAUUSD short) |
| Max Drawdown | -1.9% |
Eleven trades for the whole month. That’s barely two trades a week. In previous years, I would have been frustrated by that. I would have felt like I wasn’t “trading enough.” But now I understand — the number of trades you take doesn’t determine your skill as a trader. The quality of the trades you take does.
The win rate of 54.5% is nothing special, but look at the average win vs. average loss: 1.6R wins vs. 0.8R losses. That’s why the month was profitable despite a coin-flip win rate. I cut my losers short and I let my winners run, even in a sideways market.
How I Made Money in a Sideways Market
Most traders lose money in ranging markets because they keep trying to trade breakouts that fail. Here’s what I did differently:
1. I switched from breakout mode to range mode. After the first week of June, it was obvious that gold and the majors were in consolidation mode. I didn’t keep forcing breakout trades — I adapted. I switched to range-trading: buying support, selling resistance, taking smaller profits faster.
2. I tightened my targets. In a trending market, I aim for 2-3R on swing trades. In a ranging market, I target 1-1.5R. Why? Because in a range, you know exactly where the other side is. The range high is your upside target, the range low is your downside target. There’s no point in aiming for more than the range allows.
3. I passed on a lot of setups. I probably looked at 30-40 potential setups in June and only took 11. The other 20-30 didn’t meet my higher bar for range-market entries. In a trend, you can be more forgiving. In a range, you have to be surgical.
4. I spent more time on other things. You can’t force trades in a slow market, but you can be productive. I used the extra time to backtest a new strategy, review 50 old trades from my journal, and redesign my trading checklist. Slow markets are for preparation, not forcing action.
The Trade That Made the Month
My best trade of June was a EURUSD long that I caught right at the bottom of a three-week range. The setup was simple — a clear bullish divergence on the daily RSI, price testing the range low for the third time, and a hammer candle on the weekly chart.
I entered at 1.0692 with a stop at 1.0638 and a target at 1.0860. That’s a 54-pip risk and a 168-pip target — about 3.1:1 R:R. The trade took eight days to hit target, which is longer than usual for me, but it worked. That single trade accounted for roughly 60% of the month’s profits.
This is what people mean when they say trading is a “hurry up and wait” business. You sit around for weeks doing nothing, then one trade comes along that makes the whole month worthwhile.
The Biggest Challenge: Boredom
The hardest part of June wasn’t the trading — it was the boredom. When the market isn’t moving and there are no setups, it’s tempting to invent reasons to trade. “Maybe this pattern counts.” “Maybe I should try a different timeframe.” “Maybe I should scalp for extra income.”
I fought this by having a strict “3-strike” rule for each session: I can only enter a trade if it passes my full checklist three separate times across three different timeframes. If I have to force myself to find three reasons, it’s not a real setup.
I also scheduled non-trading work during market hours. Backtesting, journaling, strategy research — things that are useful but don’t involve putting money at risk. That way, I’m still working on my trading business without forcing bad trades.
What I’m Taking Into July
June taught me or reminded me of three things:
- Consistency beats intensity. A 4.7% month with a 1.9% max drawdown is better than a 10% month with an 8% drawdown. The first one is sustainable; the second one will blow up eventually.
- Adapt or die. When the market changes, your strategy has to change with it. Trending markets reward breakout traders. Ranging markets reward range traders. Don’t be the person who only knows one song.
- Doing nothing is doing something. Waiting for high-probability setups isn’t laziness — it’s discipline. The most profitable traders I know trade less, not more.
July is starting to look like we might get some directional movement, especially in gold. But whether it does or it doesn’t, my approach is the same: take the setups that meet my criteria, pass on everything else, and let the numbers take care of themselves.
Follow my trading journey month by month: Join Telegram @DongyiTrade for daily updates or email me at contact@dongyitrade.com.
