Volume indicators
Fixed range volume profile
A sideways histogram of where trading happened in the period you select: the busiest price (POC) and the value area that held 70% of the volume.
The idea in plain words
Prices where a lot changed hands are where the market agreed on value; they often act as support or resistance later. Thin areas are crossed quickly.
How it is calculated
Click the start and the end of the period. Change the number of rows and the value area in the settings bar.
Each candle's volume is spread evenly over its high-low range into price rows
POC = the row with the most volume
Value area = rows around the POC holding 70% of the volume (VAH and VAL are its edges)How to use it
- Profile a range: the POC is the fair price, the value area's edges are the levels to trade around.
- Profile a move: low-volume gaps inside it are where a pullback can be fast.
Drawing conclusions
- Price returning into the value area often travels to the other edge.
- Acceptance outside the value area (closes beyond it) suggests a new range.
Example
The profile of EURUSD's two-week range had its POC at 1.0870 and value area 1.0835–1.0905; the break above 1.0905 retested it before going higher.
Prices in examples are illustrative.
Watch out for
- Uses tick volume for forex and CFDs (see Anchored VWAP).
- A profile describes the past; levels need confirmation by price.
A little history
Developed from J. Peter Steidlmayer's Market Profile (Chicago Board of Trade, 1980s).
Educational content only. No indicator or pattern predicts the future, and nothing here is investment advice.