What is OHLC in Forex?

Tradermade
3 min readSep 9, 2022

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Understanding and interpreting OHLC is critical

The right investment decisions at the right time are critical to excel in the forex marketplace consistently. Similarly, proficiency in interpreting technical information is second to none for making perfect, data-driven decisions. This article takes you through the meaning and some crucial technicalities of OHLC.

If you have come across this abbreviation, but don’t have in-depth know-how about it, read this article through the end for a quick overview.

Understanding OHLC in Forex

OHLC stands for Open, High, Low, and Close. OHLC is a type of bar chart showing an asset’s four most critical data points over a typical period. Notably, one can apply this bar chart to any timeframe, ranging from a few minutes to even a few months.

What Do the Elements of an OHLC indicate?

Let’s simplify the elements of OHLC:

Forex OHLC Chart
Forex OHLC Chart Elements
  • Height of the vertical line: Intraday range of the asset during the period
  • The horizontal line extending to the left: The opening price for the period
  • The horizontal line extending to the right: The closing price for the period
  • If the price rises: The line on the right is above the left one, and the bar colour is usually black.
  • If the price falls: The line on the right is below the left line, and the bar colour is usually red.

Interpreting the OHLC charts is crucial to performing a winning analysis of the financial instruments and the overall forex market trends. Real-time data from a trusted resource helps you achieve a technical analysis based on indicators and quantitative research through the OHLC charts for better decision-making.

Why are OHLC Charts Better than Line Charts?

Line charts, points, and figures, like kagi and renko, don’t provide a complete price range. Line charts show the closing prices. Technical analysts cannot have a full range of fluctuation of the asset’s worth in a particular period. Making investment decisions based on an incomplete set of information may be risky.

Why work with a Trusted Forex Data Vendor?

Reliable forex vendors leverage the latest technology to provide real-time forex data with various insights. The robust and cost-effective forex data solutions help you analyse market trends thoroughly and make wise investment decisions.

If you are interested to retrieve real-time OHLC data programmatically, our following tutorial will be helpful for you:

Create Real-time OHLC Data with Python WebSocket

The Bottom Line

The article shares the basics of OHLC in forex and helps you understand its importance while making investment decisions in the forex market. Leverage the power of real-time data by adopting technology-driven solutions to ensure consistent profits. Revolutionize and empower your forex trading journey today!

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