Bollinger Bands Wikipedia

In the chart depicted below, Bollinger Bands® bracket the 20-day SMA of the stock with an upper and lower band along with the daily movements of the stock’s price. Because standard deviation is a measure of volatility, when the markets become more volatile the bands widen; during less volatile periods, the bands contract. Bollinger Bands also help determine overbought and oversold markets.

As part of this breakout, the market could also quickly trade entirely outside the recently broadening set of Bollinger Bands. It happens when price action spikes the lower line and then recovers, establishing the first low. Then after a while, another low is established, and this time it is above the lower band. The standard deviation measures how spread out numbers are from an average value for a given data set. The variance itself is the average of the squared differences of the mean .

The Squeeze

Standard deviation is a measure of volatility, therefore Bollinger Bands adjust themselves to the market conditions. When the markets become more volatile, the bands widen and they contract during less volatile periods. The bands contain a volatility indicator that measures a security’s relative high or low price compared to previous trades. The bands widen when there is a price increase and narrow when there is a price decrease. Due to their dynamic nature, Bollinger Bands may be applied to various trading instruments, such as stocks, commodities, futures, and Forex. Bollinger Bands are an effective technical analysis indicator, however, they do have limitations.

The trader decides the number of standard deviations they need the volatility indicator set at. The number of standard deviations, in turn, determines the distance between the middle band and the upper and lower bands. The position of these bands provides information on how strong the trend is and the potential high and low price levels that may be expected in the immediate future. Bollinger Bands are a technical analysis tool developed by John Bollinger in the 1980s for trading stocks. The bands comprise a volatility indicator that measures the relative high or low of a security’s price in relation to previous trades.

The Ultimate Guide to Using Bollinger Bands

If price touches the upper band and the study does not confirm the upward move (i.e. there is divergence), a sell signal is generated. If the study confirms the upward move, no sell signal is generated, and in fact, a buy signal may be https://www.bigshotrading.info/ indicated. If price touches the lower band and the study does not confirm the downward move, a buy signal is generated. If the study confirms the downward move, no buy signal is generated, and in fact, a sell signal may be indicated.

Since the upper BBs tend to be near-term tops, they are effective profit taking price levels selling into strength. The same applies on shorts utilizing the lower BBs as profit targets to cover some or all of the short position. During Bollinger Band expansions, traders can utilize the middle BB as a trail stop which utilizing the upper and lower BBs as profit taking areas. Bollinger Bands are a technical indicator or technical study added to stock charts to visualize price ranges.

How to read and interpret Bollinger Bands

The strategy is set up to use the MACD indicator to define the trend and the Bollinger Bands to trigger the trade. Alternatively, look for a bearish breakout when the price goes up and the indicators are flat or making a lower top.

• Many traders believe the closer the prices move to the upper band, the more overbought the market, and the closer the prices move to the lower band, the more oversold the market.
• A breakout is a period where the price of an asset suddenly moves in either direction after a period of consolidation.
• And if the is price near the lower Bollinger Band, it’s considered “cheap” because it’s 2 standard deviation below the average.
• Many traders have developed systems that thrive on these bounces and this strategy is best used when the market is ranging and there is no clear trend.
• This can be a signal that the trend will reverse in the near term.
• I use the 1 hour chart for trading and 4 hrs for trend confirmation.
• For example, long-term position traders may prefer to use a more significant number of periods and a higher standard deviation.

bollinger bands are often used to identify M-Tops and W-Bottoms or to determine the strength of the trend. The price then pulls back towards the middle band or higher and creates a new price low that holds the lower band. When the price moves above the high of the first pullback, the W-button is in place as shown in the figure below, and indicates that the price will likely rise to a new high.