Volume regime
How the current bar's volume compares with its recent average, from 0 (quiet) to 3 (extreme).
VolumeRegime divides each bar's volume by the simple average volume of the last N bars, the current bar included. It buckets that ratio into four whole-number levels: 0 low (under 0.6 times the average), 1 normal (0.6 to 1.2 times), 2 high (1.2 to 2.0 times) and 3 extreme (2.0 times or more). The first N-1 bars of a run have no value, because the average is not full yet.
How to read it
- The line sits in its own pane below the price and steps only between 0, 1, 2 and 3.
- A steady 0 is the normal reading here: on SPY one-minute bars with defaults the median is 0, so most bars count as low volume.
- A 3 needs at least twice the recent average, and at least 5% of default-setting bars reach it.
- The line says nothing about direction, so read a burst next to the price action on the chart.
What it outputs
- Volume regime (0 to 3)
- Current bar volume divided by its recent average, bucketed into 0 low, 1 normal, 2 high and 3 extreme.
Settings
- lookback
- Bars in the average the current volume is compared with, the current bar included. Short values react within minutes and swing often; long values track the typical level and change slowly. At 1 the output is always 1 on bars with volume.
Pitfalls
- At default settings the line is 0 for at least half of SPY one-minute bars, so it looks flat at the bottom most of the time.
- The average includes the current bar, so a burst lifts its own baseline. With the default 50 and typical bars before it, a bar at twice the usual volume reads 2, not 3.
- The copy routine rebuilds the indicator with a 50-bar lookback, so an internal copy ignores the lookback you set. Treat non-default lookbacks as unreliable until this is fixed.