In plain terms — On every chart there are oscillations of different durations. The trading cycle is the one you choose to use for your trades (e.g. ~18 weeks). All subsequent analysis is calibrated to that duration.
Definition
The trading cycle is the dominant cyclic component on which the analyst bases entries, exits, and risk management for a given stock.
It is not a fixed universal number: you measure it on the stock (envelope, low-to-low count) and compare with Hurst nominal cycles (~13, ~18, ~26 weeks…).
Card
- How to find it: constant-width envelope → count weeks between troughs
- What it determines: span of moving averages, valid trend line on the shorter component
- Trade-off: shorter cycle = more trades and more work; longer = fewer signals but less stress
Example — Screw and Bolt (1968): Hurst measures ~18 weeks and trades that duration; another trader on the same stock may use a shorter cycle with 11% take-profit (Ch. 8 experiment).