The standard periods recommended back in the 1960s by Gerald Appel are 12 and 26 days:

MACD = EMA<12> of price - EMA<26> of price
A signal line (or trigger line) is then formed by smoothing this with a further EMA. Sometimes, SMA is used for signal. The standard period for this is 9 days,
Signal = EMA<9> of MACD
The difference between the MACD and the signal line is often calculated and shown not as a line, but a solid block histogram style. This construction was made by Thomas Aspray in 1986. The calculation is simply
histogram = MACD - signal
With the emergence of computerized analysis, it has become highly unreliable in the modern era, and standard MACD based trade execution now produces a greater distribution of losing trades. Some additions have been made to MACD over the years but even with the addition of the MACD histogram, it remains a lagging indicator. It has often been criticized for failing to respond in mild/volatile market conditions. Since the crash of the market in 2000, most strategies no longer recommend using MACD as the primary method of analysis, but instead believe it should be used as a monitoring tool only. It is prone to whipsaw, and if a trader is not careful it is possible that they might suffer substantial loss, especially if they are leveraged or trading options.
Moving Average Convergence Divergence
Moving Average Convergence/Divergence is the next trend-following dynamic indicator. It indicates the correlation between two price moving averages. The Moving Average Convergence/Divergence Technical Indicator is the difference between a 26-period and 12-period Exponential Moving Average (EMA). In order to clearly show buy/sell opportunities, a so-called signal line (9-period indicators` moving average) is plotted on the MACD chart.
The MACD proves most effective in wide-swinging trading markets. There are three popular ways to use the Moving Average Convergence/Divergence: crossovers, over bought/oversold conditions, and divergences.

Moving Average Convergence Divergence

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MACD is one of the most reliable Forex technical indicator. MACD Technical analysis term for the crossing of two exponentially smoothed moving averages.
divergence - A situation in which two or more averages or indexes fail to show confirming trends.

The MACD indicator is primarily used to trade trends and should not be used in a ranging market. Signals are taken when MACD crosses its signal line, calculated as a 9 day
exponential moving average of MACD. What do you think? so is the macd better for trending or ranging market? I guess its the former? It is also a momentum indicator and not an oscillator right?
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Trending Market
First check whether price is trending. If the MACD indicator is flat or stays close to the zero line, the market is ranging and signals are unreliable. The MACD can be used in both ranging and trending markets, although generally I think most traders use it more in trending markets than ranging. It is both a momentum indicator and an Oscillator.
Go long when MACD crosses its signal line from below.
Go short when MACD crosses its signal line from above.
Signals are far stronger if there is either: a divergence on the MACD indicator; or a large swing above or below the zero line.
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Unless there is a divergence, do not go long if the signal is above the zero line, nor go short if the signal is below zero. Place stop-losses below the last minor Low when long, or the last minor High when short.
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Forex Trading > Moving Average Based Indicators > Moving Average Convergence Divergence
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Moving Average Convergence Divergence - Calculation