Volume indicators
Volumes
Bars showing how much trading happened in each candle; green when activity rose versus the previous candle, red when it fell.
The idea in plain words
Price tells you where the market went; volume tells you how many people took part. Moves on rising activity are generally more trustworthy than moves on fading activity.
How it is calculated
One bar per candle with its (tick) volume. The colour compares it with the previous candle's volume, as on classic trading platforms.
Bar height = volume of the candle
Green if volume > previous volume, else redHow to use it
- Breakouts on volume well above recent bars are more likely to hold.
- Rallies on shrinking volume often fade.
Drawing conclusions
- Volume often spikes at the end of a sharp move (capitulation or a blow-off top).
Example
EURUSD breaks above 1.0900 with the largest volume bar of the week, then holds above it the next day.
Prices in examples are illustrative.
Watch out for
- On currencies, metals and CFDs there is no central exchange volume. The chart uses "tick volume", the number of price changes in each candle, which follows real activity closely but is not the number of contracts traded.
- Volume naturally rises at market opens and around news; compare with the same time on other days.
A little history
Volume has been studied alongside price since the early days of the stock ticker.
Educational content only. No indicator or pattern predicts the future, and nothing here is investment advice.