An indicator that keeps a running total, adding the volume of up days and subtracting the volume of down days, to show whether trading leaned toward buyers or sellers.
- Weapon tier
- Advanced
- Slots used
- Sub-charts 1/2
- Created by
- Joseph Granville · 1963
Concept
Two lines are drawn in a lower panel. The obv line is a running total that “adds the volume of candles that closed higher and subtracts the volume of candles that closed lower”, and the obvSignal line is its average over the last 20 candles.
The number itself means nothing, because it depends on where the counting started. What you read is the slope — if the price stays put while the obv line rises, more trading happened on the up days.
- obv
- obvSignal
Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
80 candles with volume, and the obv and obvSignal lines in a lower panel. From candle 30 to candle 60 (shaded), the price moves sideways in a narrow range, but the obv line climbs steadily and stays above the obvSignal line. The yellow vertical line (candle 60) is the end of that stretch, and some time later the price moves up. Keyboard: ←/→ to move, +/− to zoom, 0 to see the whole chart.
During the shaded stretch the price barely changes, yet obv rises like a slope rather than a single step. This chart was picked because the price rose afterwards. It is common for obv to rise first and the price never to follow. Drag the chart sideways with a finger or the mouse to move it, and pinch with two fingers to zoom in. With a keyboard, click the chart, then use ←/→ to move and +/− to zoom.
How it is calculated
If the close is higher than the previous candle’s, add that candle’s volume; if it is lower, subtract it. If it is the same, leave the total as it is.
The total built up candle after candle is obv. It ignores how far the price moved and only looks at the direction — a day that rose a little adds its whole volume, just like a day that rose a lot.
obvSignal = the simple average of obv over the last 20 candles. This period is fixed and cannot be changed.
Parameters
There are no parameters to change. In the game’s weapon screen it is equipped without options.
Trading ideas
Volume moving first: when the price moves sideways while obv climbs steadily, many read it as someone quietly buying up shares. The chart on this page shows that scene. The other way round — the price holding while obv falls — is read as a weak sign.
Confirmation: when the price makes a new high and obv makes a new high too, the rise is seen as backed by volume. When only the price rises and obv lags, traders become suspicious.
Common traps
- A single day with a burst of volume can lift or drop the line a lot. Look for a steady slope rather than one such step.
- Even days that rose only slightly add their full volume, so when many days barely move, the line exaggerates.
- None of these are sure signals. Read them together with the price trend (lesson 2).
In the game
- “OBV” is an “Advanced” weapon and uses 1 of the “Sub-charts” panels (limit 2). Volume in the starting setup already uses 1, so adding it brings it to 2 (0 left).
- It has no settings to change, so you equip it as it is on the “Weapons” screen too.
- A running total depends on where the counting started, so do not compare its numbers between matches or stocks. Only read its slope within the same chart.
Related indicators and lessons
- Volume Profile — An indicator that shows with horizontal bars which price levels saw the most trading, to find “the prices where many people bought and sold”.
- MFI — An indicator that multiplies price moves by volume to show, from 0 to 100, whether more money has recently flowed in on the buying side or the selling side.
- Volume Oscillator — An indicator that shows how many % the short-term average volume is above (or below) the long-term average, telling you whether trading is heating up or cooling down.
- Volume Ratio — An indicator that shows the volume of recent up days as a % of the volume of down days, telling you whether trading leaned toward buyers or sellers.
- AD Line — An indicator that keeps a running total of each candle’s volume, weighted by where the close ended between the day’s high and low, to show buying pressure (accumulation) and selling pressure (distribution).
- EOM — An indicator of “how easily the price moves”, showing whether the price rises (or falls) easily even on light volume.
- PVT — An indicator that keeps a running total of “% move × volume” for each candle, showing whether volume pushed more on the rising side or the falling side.
- CMF — An indicator that weighs, by volume, whether closes over the last 20 candles mostly ended near the top or the bottom of each day, shown between −1 and +1.
- VWAP — An average-price line that gives more weight to prices from high-volume candles, showing roughly what people paid on average recently.
- Force Index — An indicator that multiplies how far the price moved by volume, showing whether the “force” was behind the rising side or the falling side.
- 4. Volume and volume MA