What Is Average True Range?

ATR stands for Average True Range, which is the average of true ranges throughout the given time frame. By accounting for any gaps in the price movement, ATR gauges volatility. ATR calculations typically use 14 periods, which can be intraday, daily, weekly, or monthly. You can use a shorter average, such two to ten periods, to gauge current volatility. Use 20 to 50 sessions for longer-term volatility.

What is the Average True Range?

Technical analyst J. Welles Wilder Jr. developed the ATR in 1978 as a tool to assess volatility. Since then, ATR has grown to be one of the most used types of technical volatility indicators.

It currently makes up a sizeable portion of other market direction-identifying indicators like the Average Directional Movement Index (ADX) and Average Directional Movement Index Rating (ADXR). ATR is used by traders to find the best time to trade erratic swings.

The indicator determines the market’s average price for assets over a period of 14 days. ATR provides a perspective of price volatility during that time but does not provide trend information or price direction. A low ATR denotes low price volatility, and a high ATR denotes strong price volatility during the specified period.

These low or high price volatilities are what traders take into account when deciding whether or not they wish to buy or sell assets during the period. It’s vital to remember that ATR should only be used as a guide and that it merely approximates price volatility.

How is the Average True Range Calculated?

The True Range must be found in order to compute the true range, which takes into account both the closing of the previous period and the high/low range of the most current session. For calculating the ATR, 3 computations should be done. True Range considers both the preceding period’s close and the most recent period’s high/low range.

You should consider the largest metric for the True Range from the following items:

1. Subtracting the Current Period Low from the Current Period High
2. The Previous Period Close minus the Absolute Value of the Current Period High
3. The Current Period Low’s Absolute Value minus Close of the Previous Period

True Range equals to maximum of {(high – low), abs (high – previous close), abs (low – previous close)}

The absolute value must be used since the ATR only gauges volatility, not price direction. Therefore, negative numbers shouldn’t exist. And the period 14 is the number of periods used in the range calculation.

Period signifies hours if the graphic shows hourly data. Period refers to days when daily charts are utilized. The period for weekly charts will continue to be weeks, and so on. Wilder periods use 7 and other common periods used are 14 and 20.

As The Average True Range (ATR) is created by Wilder for quantifying volatility in using daily charts, this to be the greatest for the timeframes like the distance from today’s high to today’s low, and from yesterday’s close to today’s high, as well as the distance from yesterday close to today’s low.

True Range is a key component of indicators like ADX (Average Directional Movement) or ADXR (Average Directional Movement Rating), among others, to determine the direction of a market’s movement. It quantifies market volatility.

We also use Average True Range indicator to know when market volatility is high and low. A market with high volatility is one where prices are constantly changing, whereas a market with low volatility has little price movement.

Identifying buy and sell signals as well as increased risk potential can be aided by measuring market volatility.

Markets with high price volatility have a higher potential for risk and profit since there are more possibilities for buying and selling for traders because prices increase and fall quickly.

The ATR typically peaks higher in value as market volatility increases. The ATR loses value during times of low volatility. Though it’s not a law, a market will typically continue in the direction of the first price move.

Traders tend to use the Average True Range to measure market volatility and then rely on other technical indicators to help identify market direction.

What are the Benefits of Using the Average True Range?

ATR is a popular tool used by cryptocurrency traders to gauge price volatility over time. Due to the extreme volatility seen in crypto markets, ATR is particularly advantageous in this industry. Using ATR to set take-profit and stop-loss orders is a popular tactic.

You can prevent market noise from impacting your trading tactics by employing ATR in this manner. You don’t want daily volatility to prematurely close your positions if you’re trying to trade a long-term trend that you believe exists.

The ATR is often multiplied by 1.5 or 2, and the result is used to set the stop-loss amount below your entry price. Your stop-loss trigger price shouldn’t be reached by the daily volatility; if it is, this is an indication that the market is headed sharply lower.

How to Use the Average True Range in Trading?

With a trailing stop-loss, you can modify the exit point from a trade if the asset price is going in your favor rather than against you. The ATR is frequently used by day traders to determine where to place their trailing stop-loss.

Look at the current ATR reading before making a transaction. As a general rule, multiplying the ATR by two will yield a suitable stop-loss level. As a result, if you were to buy a stock, you might set your stop-loss at a price that is twice the ATR below the entry price. The stop-loss level for a stock short would be twice the ATR above the entry price.

Continue lowering the stop-loss to twice the ATR below the price if you are long and the price is moving in your favor. In this case, the stop-loss never travels downward; it always moves upward. When it is moved higher, it stays there until it can be moved up again or the trade is stopped when the price drops to the following stop-loss level, which triggers the closing of the position. The method is the same for short trades, except the stop-loss only moves downward in that situation.

Conclusion

Many traders’ toolkits must include ATR in order to comprehend volatility patterns. Digital crypto assets are particularly well-suited to cryptocurrency trading because volatility is a crucial factor. Its simplicity is one of its assets, but if you choose to experiment with it in your trading operations, be aware of its drawbacks.