Rising volume
More activity as price moves. This suggests growing participation behind the move. It is support for the idea, not proof.
The Academy
Learn to read candles and volume
A candle tells you what happened during one period. Volume tells you how much activity was behind it. Neither tells you what happens next, but together they help you judge how much weight a move deserves.
What volume is telling you
Spot gold and forex have no single central exchange, so most platforms show tick volume, which counts price changes rather than contracts. It is a stand-in for activity and differs between brokers.
Volume leaving the market
Price still creeps on, but each candle has less behind it. We would not start a new trade in that direction, and we would be careful with any open one.
Declining volume can confirm
On a pullback, falling volume fits with a pause. Few traders are pushing against the move, which can support the trend.
Declining volume can invalidate
During a breakout or the main move, falling volume is a warning. The move has less force, so the idea is weaker, even if price has not turned yet.
Interactive lessons
Each lesson has a chart with volume, a companion you can question, exact rules and a practice plan.
Lesson 1
Reading Volume
What rising volume means, what happens when volume is leaving the market, and how falling volume can support or weaken an idea.
12 min
Lesson 2
Hammer and Pin Bar
A long wick that shows a rejection, and why it needs volume and a next candle to mean much.
8 min
Lesson 3
Shooting Star
The upside-down hammer, and why a market that feels too high is not a setup.
8 min
Lesson 4
Engulfing Candles
When one candle covers the last, and how to plan it without jumping in at the close.
8 min
Lesson 5
Doji
A candle that shows indecision and nothing more. The next one is what matters.
6 min
Lesson 6
Inside Bar
A pause inside the candle before it, and what has to happen before it means anything.
8 min
Your certificate
You have completed 0 of 6. To complete a lesson, a practice plan needs to score 70 or more, with a valid hard stop and at least 3:1. Plans must be scored while you are signed in to count towards a certificate.
The main patterns
The bars below each candle show volume. These diagrams show the shape only, and they are not real prices.
Doji
Open and close almost equal. Buyers and sellers ended the candle about level.
Volume: Heavy volume suggests a real contest. Very low volume may only be a quiet market.
Careful: It shows indecision, not direction.
Practise thisHammer
After a fall, price was pushed down and then back up, leaving a long lower wick.
Volume: A clear rise in volume adds weight to the rejection.
Careful: Wait for the next candle. The shape alone is only a clue.
Practise thisShooting star
After a rise, price was pushed up and then back down, leaving a long upper wick.
Volume: A clear rise in volume adds weight to the rejection.
Careful: A market that feels too high is not, by itself, a reason to sell.
Practise thisBullish engulfing
A second body covers the first and moves up. Control changed hands within a candle.
Volume: The second candle should be clearly busier than the first.
Careful: Buying at its close leaves your stop far away.
Practise thisBearish engulfing
A second body covers the first and moves down. Control changed hands within a candle.
Volume: The second candle should be clearly busier than the first.
Careful: In the middle of a sideways market, it means very little.
Practise thisPin bar
A very long wick on one side. A common name for hammers and shooting stars alike.
Volume: A long wick on thin volume tells you far less.
Careful: It carries far more weight at a level you marked beforehand.
Practise thisInside bar
A candle sitting fully within the one before it. The market has paused.
Volume: Volume usually dries up. We want it back on the break.
Careful: It says nothing about which way the pause will end.
Practise thisStrong full-body candle
A large body with almost no wicks, also called a marubozu. One side was in control throughout.
Volume: High volume supports it. It can also be the last burst of a move.
Careful: Never chase it. Wait for a pullback, or let it go.
Practise this