In market analysis, technical indicators and chart patterns often precede major changes in fundamental supply/demand relationships. One theory why this occurs is that the collective wisdom of the market recognizes small but important changes in the fundamentals before they have exerted their eventual major influence. Another theory is that technical indicators are a self-fulfilling prophecy; that is, traders who believe in a signal will act in such a way to make the signal come true. It is sort of a herd-mentality way of thinking. A final thought is that (as economic theory teaches) the final arbiter between supply and demand is price. Consequently, studying prices and how they could create changes in supply/demand relationships gives insig...