What it looks like
Compare the range of the latest candle with the six before it. If it is the smallest of the seven, it is an NR7. Every NR7 is also an NR4, but not the other way round. An NR7 that is also an inside bar is an especially tight squeeze.
What it means
The market has gone quiet and the range is squeezing. Quiet tends to be followed by a move, though the candle does not say which way. The point of the pattern is to mark a small, defined range so that when the move comes you have a clear trigger and a clear place for the stop.
How to trade it
- 1
Mark the high and low of the bigger candle before the NR7.
- 2
Confirmation: a close above the high (buy signal) or below the low (sell signal).
- 3
Entry: at the close of the breakout candle.
- 4
Stop: on the other side of the bigger candle. Example on US30: the bigger candle before the NR7 runs from 46,950 to 47,030, the NR7 from 46,975 to 47,005. A candle closes at 46,940. Sell at 46,940, stop at 47,040, a 100 point risk.
- 5
Target: the next key level or 2 times the stop.
A close back inside the bigger candle's range after the breakout.
Where it works best
On 1 hour to daily charts, especially before a session open or ahead of scheduled news, when quiet often gives way to a move.
WickSpeak spots every NR7 automatically and names it on the candle that made it. The note says what it is, how to trade the break and the close back inside the bigger candle that proves it wrong. In Playbook you can use it as a condition in a play, alone or alongside other patterns and indicators (any of the 146 patterns can be a condition), and backtest it on past candles with your own costs.
Common mistakes
- Expecting a big move every time; quiet can stay quiet.
- Picking a side before the close beyond the range.
- Using NR7 on very low timeframes, where narrow candles are common and mean little.
Related patterns
Questions traders ask
What is an NR7 day?
A day whose high to low range is the smallest of the last seven days. It marks a very quiet session that often comes before a larger move.
Does NR7 tell you the direction?
No. It only says the market is quiet. The direction comes from the next close beyond the range.
Is NR7 better than NR4?
NR7 is rarer and marks a tighter squeeze, so many traders give it more weight. Both are traded the same way.
What proves an NR7 breakout wrong?
A close back inside the bigger candle's range after the break.