What it is
Normal volume bars show how much traded in each candle, over time. A volume profile turns that on its side and shows how much traded at each price. Busy prices are where buyers and sellers agreed; thin prices are where the market moved through quickly.
The visible version builds the profile from the candles currently on your screen, so it updates as you scroll or zoom. On forex and CFD charts, volume is usually tick volume rather than contracts traded.
How it is calculated
Split the price range of the visible candles into 60 rows. For each candle, share its volume evenly across the rows its high to low range covers. Add up the volume in each row. The row with the most volume is the point of control. Starting from the POC, add the busier of the next row above or below, one row at a time, until 70% of the total volume is included; the top and bottom of that band are the value area high (VAH) and value area low (VAL). Exchange tools that have trade by trade data place each trade at its exact price; sharing a candle's volume across its range is the standard way to build a profile from candles.
Settings
| Setting | Default | Range | What it changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| rows | 60 | 20 to 160 | How many price rows the profile is split into. More rows give finer detail; fewer give a smoother shape. |
| value area % | 70 | 30 to 95 | How much of the total volume the value area must hold. 70% is the standard. |
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
On a 15 minute US30 chart, show a few days of candles so the profile has a clear POC and value area.
- 2
Value area rejection: when price pokes above VAH but closes back inside, sell on that close, stop above the poke high, target the POC.
- 3
Acceptance breakout: two closes above VAH, then a retest that holds, is a buy with a stop back inside the value area and a target at the next busy area above.
- 4
On gold, use the same rules on a 1 hour chart for swing levels, sizing stops from the distance to the nearest value area edge.
A rejection short is wrong once price closes above the poke high and stays above VAH. A breakout long is wrong once price closes back inside the value area.
On WickSpeak, the volume profile writes a plain-English reading on the live candle: where price sits against the POC and the value area, how to trade it and what would prove it wrong. It is built from the candles on screen, so zooming out to a few days gives you a multi day profile.
Best markets and timeframes
Most useful on markets with real exchange volume, such as index futures and crypto, and still useful on gold, US30 and NAS100 CFDs with tick volume. Read it on 5 minute to 1 hour charts showing one to several sessions.
Common mistakes
- Reading a profile built from too few candles, which gives a random POC.
- Forgetting that the visible profile changes when you scroll.
- Fading every touch of the value area edge on a trending day.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
What is the point of control?
It is the price where the most volume traded in the profile. It acts like a magnet in balanced markets and often becomes support or resistance.
What is the value area in volume profile?
The range of prices around the point of control that holds 70% of the total volume. Its top is the value area high and its bottom is the value area low.
What does visible range mean?
The profile is built only from the candles you can see on the chart. Zoom out to include more days, or in to focus on today.
Does volume profile work on forex?
Forex has no single central volume, so CFD and forex charts use tick volume. The profile still shows where activity clustered, but treat it as a guide to activity rather than exact traded size.