Relative volume: what it is, and how to test it
Volume is always heavier at the open and the close and lighter at lunch, so a big number alone means little. Relative volume compares each minute with the same minute on recent days. QuantLogic counts the minutes trading at least twice their usual volume. Here is the exact rule.
What it is
Usual means the average volume of the same minute of the session over the last 10 sessions.
High volume says many contracts traded, not which side was right.
The exact rule QuantLogic uses
Volume 2× the usual for this minute, on one-minute bars.
- The usual volume: the average volume of the same minute of the regular session over the last 10 sessions.
- This bar's volume is at least twice that.
When is it known? Known when the bar closes. The usual volume comes from earlier sessions only.
Versions you can build
- Volume 2× the usual for this minute. At least twice the 10-session average for this minute.
What to look at around it
In QuantLogic, every time the idea happened is laid out with the data points around it, so you can see where it held and where it didn't:
Traps when you test it
- Comparing with the day's average. The open always has more volume than lunch; this rule compares minute with minute.
- Reading a direction into it. Volume has no side: test longs and shorts.
- Ignoring news. Releases bring volume; the calendar is a data point to check.
Build it and test it yourself
Open Volume 2× the usual for this minute in Build with QuantLogic. See every time it happened on NQ, ES, Gold or Crude since September 2025, check the long and the short side, add your own filters and run the luck test.
Nothing is proven until it holds live. We give no trading signals and no advice, we never hold your money or your accounts, and we never trade for you.
Questions
- How many days does the usual volume use?
- The last 10 regular sessions, minute by minute.
- Does the bar's colour matter?
- No. Only its volume.
Related setups
Setup library
Liquidity sweeps, break of structure, VWAP, the opening range and more, drawn and explained with the exact rule.
Wide-range bar
A bar at least twice as wide as the average of the 20 bars before it.
Buying and selling tail
A wide bar with a long lower wick (buying tail) or a long upper wick (selling tail).
VWAP
Price crossing the session's volume-weighted average price, or touching it.
Opening range
A close above or below the first 15 minutes' high or low, or a failed break.
Educational content, not investment advice. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss. See the risk disclosure.